Overview
Taxonomy describes the system for classifying living organisms. All living species that have been classified by scientist are classified using the follow categories:
- Kingdom
- Phylum
- Class
- Order
- Family
- Genius
- Species
Example: The taxonomy of a black bear (Ursus americanus) is:
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Family: Ursidae
Genus: Ursus
Species: americanus
Example: The taxonomy of a sea lion (Scientific name: Zalophus californianus)
is:
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Family: Otariidae
Genus: Zalophus
Species: californianus
When we compare the taxonomy of a black bear and sea lion, we find that they share a lot in common. They share the same classifications for kingdom, phylum, and order. Their classifications differ at the level of family and genus. The lowest classification they share in common is order. This tells us that both the sea lion and the black bear have a common ancestor at this level.
Scientific Terms
Materials
- Internet access
- Access to one or more of the following:
- Zoo
- Oceanarium
- Specialized pet stores for fish, birds, or reptiles.
- Nursery
- Botanical garden
- Camera
- Journal and writing instrument
- Scratch paper
- Posterboard
Procedure
- Visit one or more of the recommended animal or plant facilities (Note: Choose animal or plant species, not both.
- Select three different species that interest you.
- While viewing the species, take a photograph or make a drawing of the species. Note both the common and scientific name for each of the species.
- Using the internet, research the kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genius, for each of the species.
- Compare the taxonomy of your species as described in the background section.
- At what level or levels do you see commonality?
- Use the poster board to create a display for your science fair project. Include the following:
- An introduction to what taxonomy means.
- The objective of the science project.
- Photographs of your species.
- The common and scientific names of the species.
- An explanation of the level or levels that the species in common.
- A conclusion of what you learned from the project.
References
- "Taxonomy Hierarchy," located on Youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKwOlAqQoLk
- "The animal phyla," located on the Biomedia website https://www.ebiomedia.com/the-animal-phyla.html
- "Classification and Taxonomy," on Youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPtAuojPQVQ
- "How to Create a Phylogenetic Tree" on eHow http://www.ehow.com/how_5104274_create-phylogenetic-tree.html
