CLASSIFICATION OF ORGANISMS

Classification is the placing of organisms in groups based on features they have in common. It
involves taxonomy, nomenclature and the construction and usage of identification keys

Taxonomy
The branch of biology where each organism is placed in a series of groups arranged in a
hierarchy is called taxonomy. The groups are called taxa (singular: taxon). A taxon is a group
of organisms that have similar features. The highest taxon an organism can belong to is a
kingdom. Each kingdom is made of related phyla (singular: phylum); each phylum is made of
related classes; each class is made of related orders; each order is made of related families; each
family comprises a number of related genera (singular: genus) and each genus is made of related
species. The species is defined as a group of organisms having similar features and capable of
interbreeding to produce fertile offspring. It is the lowest taxon an organism can belong to. The
above hierarchy of taxa can be remembered using the following memory aid: Kings Play Chess
On Fine Gold Stools. The taxonomies of the human being, lion and maize plant are given in the
following table:

Taxon Human being Lion Maize Wolf

Kingdom Animalia Animalia Plantae Animalia
Phylum Chordata Chordata Angiospermophyta Chordata
Class Mammalia Mammalia Monocotyledoneae Mammalia
Order Primates Carnivora Commelinales Carnivora
Family Hominid Felideae Poaceas Canidae
Genus Homo Panthera Zea Canis
Species Homo sapiens Panthera leo Zea mays Canis lupus

Nomenclature
Nomenclature is the naming of organisms with scientific names. The system of naming used is
called the binomial system of nomenclature. In this system, the biological/scientific name of
each organism has two parts. The first part is the name of the genus (generic name) and always
begins with a capital letter while the second part is the name of the species (specific epithet). If
printed, the name is italicized (e.g. Homo sapiens) but if hand-written, the name is under-lined
(e.g. Homo sapiens). This is to indicate that the name is scientifically accepted world-wide. The
names are normally in Latin because it was the original scientific language and is universally
accepted. When written for the first time, the name must be written in full (e.g. Panthera leo) but
if mentioned afterwards, only the first letter of the generic name is written followed by the full
specific epithet (e.g. P. leo).

Kingdoms
There are five kingdoms of living organisms, namely Kingdom Prokaryota (the prokaryotes or
bacteria), Kingdom Protoctista (the protoctists or protists such as Amoeba, Plasmodium and
Trypanosoma), Kingdom Fungi (the fungi such as yeasts, mushrooms, toadstools and
Penicillium), Kingdom Plantae (the plants) and Kingdom Animalia (the animals). Viruses are
not assigned a kingdom because they are considered to be on the border-line between living and
non-living things. When independent, they behave like non-living particles because they do not

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metabolize or self-regulate. But once inside a host, they behave like living things by carrying out
reproduction.

Kingdom Prokaryotae
No nucleus; no double-membraned organelles; unicellular; includes all bacteria
(singular=bacterium)

Kingdom Protoctista
Have well defined nucleus; have double-membraned organelles; mainly unicellular (single-
celled) or with a cellular level of organization; includes protozoa and algae.
Examples of protists are Plasmodium, Amoeba and Trypanosoma.

Kingdom Fungi
Multicellular; Have well defined nucleus; have double-membraned organelles; cell wall of
chitin; non photosynthetic (no chloroplasts); saprophytic nutrition; examples are yeasts, moulds,
mushrooms and toadstools.

Kingdom Plantae
Multicellular; Have well defined nucleus; have double-membraned organelles; cellulose cell
walls; photosynthetic (presence of chloroplasts); includes mosses, ferns, conifers and flowering
plants.
Flowering Plants
They have well developed roots, stem, vascular system and leaves; they bear flowers; they bear
seeds which are enclosed in fruits. There are two classes: monocotyledonous and
dicotyledonous plants.

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Monocotyledoneae Dicotyledoneae
Each seed has one cotyledon Each seed has two cotyledons
Have fibrous root system Have taproot system
Leaves are long and narrow and have Leaves are broad and have branched veins
parallel veins
Dull-coloured flowers having three floral Brightly coloured flowers having four or more floral
parts parts
Vascular bundles are scattered in the stem Vascular bundles arranged in a circle in the stem
Examples include all grasses Examples include all legume plants

Kingdom Animalia
Multicellular; have well defined nucleus; have double-membraned organelles; no cell walls;
heterotrophic nutrition; presence of nervous system; presence of anterior and posterior ends;
presence of dorsal and ventral surfaces; presence of two lateral surfaces; presence of either radial
or bilateral symmetry; includes invertebrates and vertebrates.

Invertebrates
These are animals without backbones. They include the following phyla:
• Cnidaria (e.g. sea anemones, corals, hydras and jellyfish): have radial symmetry; have
tentacles.
• Mollusca (e.g. snails, slugs, squids, limpets, mussels and octopus): soft-bodied with a
muscular foot; slimy covering; two pairs of tentacles, one with eyes and the other with
smell receptors; usually have shells.

• Nematoda (unsegmented roundworms): often microscopic, parasitic and extremely

common.

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• Platyhelminths (flatworms such as tape worm and liver fluke): flat, unsegmented and
bilaterally symmetrical; mouth present but no anus.
• Annelida (truly segmented worms e.g. earthworms): long cylindrical bodies; bristle
(chetae); clitellum

• Echinodermata (sea urchins and starfish)

• Arthropoda (Crustaceans, insects, myriapods and arachnids): these are animals with
jointed appendages, Exoskeleton, Bilateral symmetry, segmented body, Ventral
notochord and dorsal heart. (Can be summarized JEBSVD).
➢ Crustaceans (e.g. crabs, lobsters, crayfish and woodlice): aquatic or found in
damp places; cephalothorax present; two pairs of antennae; three pairs of jaws;
exoskeleton not water proof.

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➢ Insects: 3 body regions (head thorax and abdomen), 2 pairs of wings, compound
eyes, 3 pairs of legs, tracheal system for respiration.

➢ Myriapods (centipedes and millipedes): terrestrial; herbivorous; one pair of

antennae; one pair of jaws; many legs; centipedes have flattened bodies and one
leg per segment; millipedes have cylindrical bodies and 2 pairs of legs per
segment.

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➢ Arachnids: 2 body regions (cephalothorax and abdomen); 4 pairs of legs;
powerful jaws; spinneret (used for spinning webs in spiders); wings absent;
simple eyes; antennae absent; one pair of appendages; one pair of sensory
appendages.

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Identification Keys for the Kingdoms of Living Organisms

An identification key is a series of statements about characteristics of organisms which, if

followed step by step, makes it possible for identification or classification of organisms. The type
of key normally used in Biology called the dichotomous key. In this type of key, there is a series
of paired contrasting statements or a branching tree diagram, leading to the identification of the
organisms covered by the key. When constructing an identification key, one must always begin
by listing the characteristics of the organisms they are trying to identify and then proceed with
construction of the key based on the listed characteristics.
This presentation attempts to give some practice in the use of an identification key to place
organisms in their kingdoms.

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Consider the following animals. They are all related, but each is a separate
species. Use the dichotomous key below to determine the species of each.

As seen above:
the keys are mutually exclusive characteristics of biological
organisms.
they often begin with general characteristics and lead to
more specific characteristics.
you simply compare the characteristics of an unknown organism
against an appropriate dichotomous key.
if the organism falls into one category, you go to the next indicated
couplet.

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Exercise
consider the diagram below.

Figure above shows single leaves from six different trees. Use the key below to identify which
tree each leaf comes from. Make a table similar to the one below and put a tick in the correct box
to show how you identify each leaf. Give the name of the tree. Leaf A has been identified for you
as an example.

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You are provided with three specimens labelled A, B and C.

Use the identification key provided below to write down the scientific name of each of the three
specimens.

Identification Key for Specimens A, B and C

1. Organism has simple eyes (go to 2)
Organism has compound eyes (Glossina fuscipes)
2. Organism has four pairs of limbs (Euscorpius carpathicus)
Organism has more than four pairs of limbs (Scolopendra subspinipes)

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