What is taxonomy in zoology?

What is taxonomy? This is the science of system design. Several million species of living organisms have already been discovered on the planet. Scientists are sure that millions more animals, plants, fungi and microorganisms will have to be discovered. All this diversity must be systematized.

What is taxonomy in zoology?

Each branch of biology began to carry out serious work to systematize the world of wildlife in due time. The foundations of the systematics of the animal world were laid by Aristotle - a famous ancient Greek philosopher. Large taxa introduced by Aristotle are still in use.

What is taxonomy in zoology? This is one of the disciplines of zoology. All disciplines included in animal science are closely related to each other. At the same time, they are to a certain extent independent: morphology, physiology, ecology, zoogeography, paleontology, phylogenetics, systematics.

What is taxonomy in zoology? A science that studies the diversity of animals and establishes, depending on the degree of similarity, the order of submission. Systematics in zoology builds a classification of animals.

Taxon hierarchy

To compile the fauna system, scientists use a hierarchy of taxa: kingdom - type - class - detachment - family - genus - species. Any organism discovered and described by scientists is included in each of the taxa presented.

In the 18th century, Karl Linney introduced binary nomenclature. That is, each type of organism has its own name, consisting of two words. The first word is a generic name. This principle of names makes it easier to understand what kind of animal in question, because there are still significantly fewer genera in the system than there are species.

The affinity of species of organisms

Since Charles Darwin put forward the theory of evolution, systematics began to be built on the principle of the kinship of organisms with each other. All organisms in one taxonomic group have the closest relationship with each other than with other species of organisms. That is, they came from one common ancestor.

The principle of work of scientists

Karl Linney systematized animals based on external resemblance. Currently, scientists use many approaches for the most accurate determination of whether a species belongs to a particular taxonomic group. The data of anatomy are used, that is, the external and internal structure of organisms is considered. Physiological data add information for a more accurate classification of animals. Paleontology makes its invaluable contribution to the determination of the origin of organisms, which is very important in the design of the system, because it is the kinship of the evolutionary process that are taken into account when classifying animals and other organisms. Genetics is making an increasing contribution to taxonomy. It provides data on the results of DNA sequencing.

The genomes of various organisms are compared. The whole system of the wildlife world is being adjusted.

For example, until recently, Australian Emu and American Nandu belonged to ostriches. After some new data from genetics and other sciences appeared, scientists came to the conclusion that only the African ostrich is the ostrich itself. Emu and Nanda are not related to each other, nor to the African ostrich. The fact that these species are so similar in appearance is the result of convergence in evolution. This similarity has arisen due to the same lifestyle of these birds. African ostrich, emu and rhea never fly, prone to flee from predators.

Mammal taxonomy

Mammals are characterized by hairline, homeothermia (warm-bloodedness) and the presence of mammary glands.

At present, according to various sources, 2 or 3 subclasses comprise the class of mammals: primitive animals, marsupials, and placental animals. In the case of the division of mammals into 2 subclasses of marsupials and placental, they belong to a subclass of real animals.

First beasts are a platypus and five species of echidnas.

These representatives have all the signs of mammals, but at the same time they lay eggs, as their distant ancestors did - animal-like reptiles. It is believed that all modern mammals have evolved from bestial reptiles.

Marsupial animals are an intermediate stage in the course of evolution. They no longer lay eggs, but the placenta is poorly developed in lower animals. That is why marsupial animals give birth to premature babies, which are carried in a bag.

Placental mammals have a developed placenta - the organ that connects the mother and the cub.

Imagine the taxonomy in the table:

Thus, the taxonomy of mammals, as well as other taxonomic groups of animals, plants, and microorganisms, is an ongoing process of improving data. The development of genetics in the 21st century has led to great changes in the system of the wildlife world.