Biological Classification Basis: Overview, Importance, Types and FAQ

According to fossil evidence, life on Earth began about 3.7 billion years ago. Today, Earth is home to countless species, from microscopic microbes to giant blue whales. The diversity of life is so great that many species have yet to be discovered. The giant squid (Architeuthis dux), for example, was a sailor's fantasy until a real specimen was captured on video in 2004.

Likewise, many organisms have yet to be identified or discovered. But we need a system to classify the organisms we know about. Because the same organism or its variations can exist in different locations on the planet. Biologically, they all represent the same organism, but these organisms are given different names depending on their location.

What is Biological Classification?

Biological classification is the scientific procedure that organizes organisms into a set of hierarchical groups and subgroups based on their similarities and differences. Many biologists have contributed to this classification method, and it has taken researchers years to identify the most fundamental characteristics for classification.

Example of Biological Classification

Biological classification is similar to how libraries work. The library's books are divided into three categories: children's books, adult fiction, and young adult books. Within each group, there are more classifications such as fiction and non-fiction. The same goes for biological classification. The zone is on top. It's like the difference between an adult section and a kids section in a bookstore. Plants and animals are divided into kingdoms. Eventually, you will reach an organism similar to going to a book in a library.

History of Classification

The continuous accumulation of changes in an animal's shell over time necessary for its life is called evolution.

Charles Darwin published the first theory of evolution in 1859, The Origin of Species. Studying evolution and taxonomy together leads to the following conclusions.

1. A lower or primitive species has an archaic body shape that appears to have remained constant over a period of time.

2. Advanced beings have been around for some time and have developed their own body models.

However, this is not sufficient to identify organisms. We use terms such as "young" and "old" organisms to describe the likelihood that body structures will change over time as they become more complex.

Significance of Biological Classification

Taxonomic classification shows how organisms are related to each other. To classify a set of species with similar characteristics, scientists study behaviour, genetics, embryology, comparative anatomy, and the fossil record. A standardised nomenclature system makes it easy for scientists working on similar projects to communicate with each other.

Aristotle and his student Theophrastus are credited with being the first scientists in the Western world to use biological classifications to understand the meaning of the natural world. Similar to the existing classification of vertebrates and invertebrates, Aristotle's classification system classified organisms with similar characteristics into genera.

Basis Of Classification

We have observed the evolution of living organisms for millions of years. Humans descend from monkeys. We look at similarities between species in order to classify and study them as a whole. To do this, we must first agree on the key characteristics that will be the basis for classification.

• It has a core.

• Cells make up the structure of the body (unicellular or multicellular).

• food production

• Degree of body structure of photosynthetic organisms.

• This is the arrangement of body parts, body growth and development of specialized organs for various activities in animals.

Because plants and animals have different body structures, these characteristics will be different. As a result, instead of a broad classification, we were able to create subgroups using these outstanding designs and unique characteristics.

Classification Systems

• Classification of two kingdoms: Animalia and Plantae were the only kingdoms in which living things were first classified. According to this classification system, the Plantae kingdom consists of species that can prepare their own food from basic inorganic elements. "Autotroph" is another term for them.

• Classification of the Three Kingdoms: The preceding problem was solved in 1866 by taxonomist Ernst Haeckel. To classify species like Euglena, he created the kingdom Protista. I also put bacteria in the third kingdom. Mushrooms, on the other hand, are still classified as Plantae.

• Classification of the Five Kingdoms: By 1937, E. Chatton had introduced the term "prokaryotes" for bacteria and "eukaryotes" for plant and animal cells. The Five Kingdoms classification system was first proposed by Robert Whittaker in 1967. Based on these criteria, Fungi, Protista, Monera, Plantae and Animalia were created. In 1988, Margulis and Schwartz changed the five kingdom classification system.