Classifying Organisms: 1 of 33 © Boardworks LTD 2011

Classifying Organisms
1 of 33 © Boardworks Ltd 2011

What is a species?
A huge variety of organisms live on our planet.
Scientists have put living things into groups to make them
easier to identify. This is called classification.
Organisms can be classified into

different species.
A species is a group of organisms

that are capable of interbreeding to
produce fertile offspring.
So far, scientists have identified around 290,000 species of

plants, 1,250,000 species of animals and 5 million species of
bacteria living on our planet.

Problems with classifying species
Sometimes it is not easy to classify organisms into species.
Bacteria usually reproduce asexually. However, our definition

of ‘species’ is based on organisms that can breed together.
This definition therefore does not work for bacteria.
Many common duck species can breed together to

produce hybrids. There have been over 400
types of duck hybrid recorded.
These are often fertile, and can

breed with each other or the native
ducks, producing ducks with a
variety of characteristics.

Problems with classifying species
Mules are hybrids, made by breeding a donkey with a horse.
+ =
Most are infertile, but occasionally female mules do mate with
donkeys or horses to produce offspring. This does not fit with
our definition of species, and makes it hard to classify
the animals.

Ring species

Levels of classification

Binomial classification
The classification system that scientists
use today was developed by
Carl Linnaeus in the 18th century.
This system is known as binomial

classification. It uses Latin names, so
scientists around the world can use
the same names without confusion.
The first part of an organism’s scientific

name is its genus,
and the second part is the species.
e.g.
Tyrannosaurus rex
Binomial classifications

How do we classify organisms?
There are far too many organisms in the world for scientists
to be able to understand each one.
Classification helps them to make sense of this vast variety of
organisms by putting species together if they share
characteristics.
Questions that might be asked include:
 does the organism have a
structure, like a backbone or
flowers, that suggest that it belongs
in a certain classification?
 how is its DNA similar to and
different from the
other organisms that have already
been classified?
Plant and animal kingdoms

Other kingdoms
Originally, scientists tried to fit all organisms into the plant or
animal kingdoms.
However, they had problems

classifying some
organisms, which didn’t fit
clearly into either kingdom.
Three new kingdoms were created to deal with this problem:

the prokaryote kingdom, the protoctist kingdom and the
fungi kingdom.

Other kingdoms

Classifying animals
Animals can be divided into two groups.
animals
vertebrates invertebrates Vertebrates
have a backbone. They have a firm body

because of the muscles that are attached to
their skeleton.
Invertebrates do not have a backbone. They have

soft inner bodies that are held in shape either by a flexible
covering of outer cells or by a hard covering called an
exoskeleton.
Animal classification

Vertebrate classification

Archaeopteryx
Archaeopteryx has been extinct for approximately
150 million years. Based on fossil evidence, this creature is
very difficult to classify.
Archaeopteryx had some features of
a reptile:
 teeth
 three claws on each wing
 a long, bony tail.
However, it also had bird
features:
 hollow bones
 feathers. How would you classify it?

Evolution and classification
Classification enables us to explore the evolutionary origins
of an organism.
Two organisms in the same genus are

generally very similar, and are therefore
likely to share an ancestor in the recent past.
For example, the genus Canis includes
dogs, jackals and wolves.
Two organisms in the same kingdom (e.g. dogs

and spiders) share some characteristics, but are
different in many ways. Consequently, their
common ancestor is likely to be in the distant past.

Evolutionary trees
An evolutionary tree represents the evolutionary relationship
between organisms. Organisms with recent common
ancestors are closer together on the tree.
Scientists use the following evidence to construct

evolutionary trees:
 genetics and DNA

 fossil records
 the structures of organisms
 patterns of embryonic
development.

A simple evolutionary tree

Evolutionary tree – mammals
This evolutionary tree shows some examples of mammals.
Which animal is
platypus
most closely related
opossum to the human?
cow
Which animal is
human most closely related
chimp to the horse?
monkey
Which animal
mouse branched out from
rat the others furthest
back in evolutionary
horse
time?
dog
Evolution and ecology
Some organisms that share a distant ancestor live in the
same environment. They may evolve similar characteristics
and structures to help them survive.
However,
scientists can
tell that they are
not closely
related because
their DNA is
not very
similar.

Whales and sharks
Whales and sharks both live in the sea, and could be
considered to look quite similar. However, they are entirely
different species:
whales sharks
have lungs have gills
warm-blooded cold-blooded
give birth to
lay eggs
live young
mammal fish
Whales and sharks look similar because they have

developed structures such as fins and a streamlined body to
help them to live in the sea environment.

The importance of habitat
Sometimes organisms with a recent common ancestor live in
different environments. They may evolve quite differently,
even though their DNA is similar.
The Galapagos Islands are home to
many species of finch that all evolved
from a recent common ancestor.
However, today the finch species
have different features to help them
survive on their particular islands.
Some finches have beaks that are best for eating fruit, while
others have beaks adapted to eating seed or insects. This
varies according to what the main source of food is on the
island where they live.

Why is classification so important?
Why is classifying species is so important?
 It helps scientists to identify and study organisms.
 It makes it easier for us to know how many different

species live in an area, and recognize the places that
have the greatest diversity. It is important to conserve
these locations.
 It indicate the population of

each species. This helps us to
determine which species are
endangered, and take
measures to protect them.

Endangered species

Glossary

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Classifying Organisms

1 of 33 © Boardworks Ltd 2011

Organisms can be classified into

A species is a group of organisms

So far, scientists have identified around 290,000 species of

3 of 33 © Boardworks Ltd 2011

Bacteria usually reproduce asexually. However, our definition

Many common duck species can breed together to

These are often fertile, and can

4 of 33 © Boardworks Ltd 2011

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8 of 33 © Boardworks Ltd 2011

This system is known as binomial

The first part of an organism’s scientific

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However, they had problems

Three new kingdoms were created to deal with this problem:

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vertebrates invertebrates Vertebrates

have a backbone. They have a firm body

Invertebrates do not have a backbone. They have

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Two organisms in the same genus are

Two organisms in the same kingdom (e.g. dogs

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Scientists use the following evidence to construct

 genetics and DNA

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Whales and sharks look similar because they have

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 It helps scientists to identify and study organisms.

 It makes it easier for us to know how many different

 It indicate the population of

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