Chapter 18 - Classification

Front 1

dichotomous key

Back 1

a key used to identify organisms which consists of paired statements or questions to describe the presence or absence of a characteristic so that each step produces a smaller subset and eventually results in identification

Front 2

binomial nomenclature

Back 2

classification system in which each species is assigned a two-part scientific name

Front 3

genus

Back 3

group of closely related species; the first part of the scientific name in binomial nomenclature

Front 4

species

Back 4

a group of similar organisms that can breed and produce fertile offspring;
the second part of the scientific name in binomial nomenclature

Front 5

systematics

Back 5

study of the diversity of life and the evolutionary relationships between organisms

Front 6

taxa / taxon

Back 6

taxa (plural term) - groups or levels of organization into which organisms are classified
taxon (singular term) - used to describe just one group or level

Front 7

family

Back 7

in classification, group of similar genera

Front 8

order

Back 8

in classification, a group of closely related families

Front 9

class

Back 9

in classification, a group of closely related orders

Front 10

phylum

Back 10

in classification, a group of closely related classes

Front 11

kingdom

Back 11

largest and most inclusive group in Linnean classification

Front 12

phylogeny

Back 12

the evolutionary history of a lineage

Front 13

clade

Back 13

evolutionary branch of a cladogram that includes a single ancestor and all its descendants

Front 14

monophyletic group

Back 14

group that consists of a single ancestral species and all its descendants and excludes any organisms that are not descended from that common ancestor

Front 15

cladogram

Back 15

diagram depicting patterns of shared characteristics among species

Front 16

derived character

Back 16

trait that appears in recent parts of a lineage, but not in its older members

Front 17

domain

Back 17

larger, more inclusive taxonomic category than a kingdom

Front 18

6 Kingdoms

Back 18

Eubacteria, Archaebacteria, "Protista", Fungi, Plantae, Animalia