Classification of Organisms Ch. 14

Classification of Organisms

19 cards   |   Total Attempts: 185
  

Cards In This Set

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Taxonomy
The science of describing, naming, and classifying organisms
Binomial nomenclature
A system for giving each organism a two-word scientific name that consists of the genus name followed by the species name
Genus
The level of classification that comes after family and that contains similar species
Family
The taxonomic category below order and above genus
Order
The taxonomic category below class and above family
Class
A taxonomic category containing orders with common characteristics
Phylum
The taxonomic category below kingdom and above class
Kingdom
The highest taxonomic category, which contains a group of similar phyla
Domain
Taxonomic groups that include kingdoms
Biological species
A group of organisms that can reproduce only among themselves and that is usually contained in a geographic region
Phylogeny
The evolutionary history of a species or taxonomic group
Convergent evolution
The process by which unrelated species become more similar as they adapt to the same kind of environment
Analogous character
Similarities between organisms that arise through convergent evolution
Cladistics
A phylogenetic classification system that uses shared derived characters and ancestry as the sole criterion for groupjng taxa
Ancestral character
Similarities between organisms that evolve in a common ancestor