What Is Taxonomy Definition? Learn A-Z in Easy Language

Do you want to read about taxonomy and classification from the beginning, if yes, then this article is for you only because in this article you will get information related to taxonomy from the very beginning, so let’s start without wasting time?

What is Taxonomy?

The branch of biology under which organisms are identified, nomenclature, and classified. It is called taxonomy.

For example – let’s say that I discovered a living being, after that, I saw the special characteristics of that living being, that is, I made a distinction about what the symptoms found in it.

Then we identified that organism, in identification we studied the cell of that organism and assume that we have seen that a cell wall is found in it, and it is doing photosynthesis, which means it can be a plant.

Now that we have identified that creature, after that we will name it. See friends, there are some rules for naming. Which we will read next. Let’s assume that we have nomenclature for it as well.

Now, after that, we will classify that organism. In this, we will compare, with whom other plants, what will we see similarities and dissimilarities, and on this basis we will classify them.

Friends, whatever is most important in taxonomy. That is classification.

What is Classification?

When organisms are classified on the basis of similarities and dissimilarities or characteristics, it is called classification.

I hope you have understood till now, now let’s go ahead.

What is Systematics?

The term systematics was given by the scientist Carl Linnaeus. First, let me clear up your confusion. You may think that both Systematics and taxonomy are one, but both are different, there is some difference between them. Let’s know what is the difference.

What do we do in taxonomy? In taxonomy, we identify, characterize, nomenclature, and classify and classify organisms on the basis of similarities and dissimilarities in classification.

But in systematics, we do one extra thing which is not done in taxonomy. In systematics also identification, specialization, nomenclature, and classification are done like taxonomy.

But this classification is done on the basis of similarity, dissimilarity, and evolutionary relationship. So such a system is called systematics. So what was extra in this evolutionary relationship? 

Now we will read that –

What is Nomenclature? 

Giving a name to any organism is called “Nomenclature”. Maybe there is a question in your mind that why brothers do naming, then my brother’s nomenclature is done so that we can identify them like – we also have a name by which people recognize us. In the same way, all living beings should have a name.

Now one organism is known by different names in different countries or in different states of the same country.

For example, onion is called Kandha towards Maharashtra, dog towards Kolkata is called Kukur, and watermelon towards Punjab is called Kalingad. So somewhere, everywhere, there are some names of the living beings which we call the local name (Vernacular name). Which creates confusion.

To remove this confusion, each living being must be given a name that applies everywhere. Now, whether it is America, England, Japan, China, India, or any country, the beans will have the same name. And this name itself is called a scientific name.

Now it comes to the point that who will give the scientific name, and who has given this scientific name?

So the scientific name is given according to the rules of the binomial system.

What is Binomial nomenclature?

In this method, the scientific name is given by mixing it with two names, and those two names will be genus and species names.

For example, the scientific name of the frog is Rana tigrina, in which Rana is the genus name and Tigrina is the species name.

Who Gave the Binomial Nomenclature?

This method was given by scientist Carl Linnaeus. In 1751, he published a book named “Philosophia Botanica”, he explained the binomial nomenclature in this book. After that, in 1753, he published another book named “Species Plantarum”. Under which he classified 5900 plants.

After that, again in 1758, he published another book named “Systema Naturae” in which, 4326 animals were classified.

What are Nomenclature Committees?

This is a group of scientists in which scientists name organisms, and they name them according to the binomial nomenclature. There are four types of these committees.

ICBN – International Code of Botanical Nomenclature – This committee names the plants.

ICZN – International Code of Zoological Nomenclature – This committee names the animals.

ICVN – International Code of Virus Nomenclature – This committee names the viruses.

ICNB – International Code of Nomenclature of Bacteria – This committee names the bacteria.

Also, read –

What is the animal kingdom? Complete notes.

What is the plant kingdom? Full Information.

What is biology’s definition and branches?

What is a cell wall? Complete notes

Now we will talk about the rule of the binomial nomenclature.

Rules of Binomial Nomenclature –

1. The scientific name would be a combination of Genus and species name.
2. The first letter of the genus name will be in capital letters and the first letter of the species name will be in small letters.
3. Whatever will be the scientific name, after that scientific name, the name of the scientist who will present that name will appear, but the name of the scientist will be in an abbreviated form like – Homo sapiens Linn.
4. Linn. The name of the scientist is Carl Linnaeus, who presented the scientific name of the human being Homo Sapiens.
5. All these scientific names will be Latin or Greek words. Now it comes to the point why scientific names should be words of this language because if the meaning of a word is fixed in this language, then it never changes again. That’s why this language is also called dead language.
6. If you want to write the scientific name, then you will write it by hand or print it if you write by hand. So underline the scientific name and if you print it, it will have to be printed in italics.

So done about the rule now we will talk about taxonomic hierarchy –

What is Taxonomic Hierarchy?

The classification of organisms has been done in an order and these orders will be in different ranks which is called taxonomic hierarchy. That is this post.

Domain → Kingdom → Phylum → Class → Order → Family → Genus → Species

Now we will talk about the Kingdom of the classification system, there are many types of Kingdoms. So the name of the first kingdom is two kingdoms of the classification system.

Who Gave the Two Kingdoms of Classification System?

The two kingdoms of classification system were given by the scientist Carl Linnaeus.

Which are the Two Kingdoms of the Classification Systems in the Kingdom?

There are two kingdoms of classification systems in the two kingdoms.

1. Plantae kingdom
2. Animalia kingdom

On What Basis Two Kingdoms of the Classification System was Divided?

Carl Linnaeus had divided the two kingdoms of the classification system on the basis of cell wall, that is, the animals whose cells were getting cell wall were kept in the Plantae kingdom and those whose cells were not getting cell wall were kept in the Animalia kingdom.

Bacteria, plants, fungi, and algae were placed in the Plantae kingdom. Why, kept because the cell wall is found in them, and animals were kept in the Animalia kingdom in which the cell wall is not found.

Now here Linnaeus had made a mistake, what was that mistake? He had put unicellular and multicellular organisms together in the Plantae kingdom.

What is a Unicellular And Multicellular Organism?

Bacteria, diatoms, dinoflagellates, protozoa, and algae are unicellular organisms, and plants and fungi are multicellular organisms. Another system came up to correct the mistake that Carl Linnaeus had made.

Three Kingdoms of the Classification System –

Scientist Earnest Hackle gave this kingdom of the classification system. He divided this system into three kingdoms.

There were already two kingdoms of the classification system, the Plantae kingdom and the Animalia kingdom, they gave another kingdom, The Protista Kingdom.

Now, on what basis did Hackle divide? Hackle divided on the basis of the organization of the body, meaning that the organisms which were unicellular were picked up and placed in the kingdom Protista.

Now brother, he also made a mistake. What was that mistake? They put prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells together. Now another kingdom system has come to correct this mistake.

Four kingdoms of the classification system –

The Four kingdoms of the classification system were given by scientist Copeland. He divided this system into four kingdoms.

The three-kingdom system was already the Plantae kingdom, the Animalia kingdom, and the Protista kingdom. He gave another kingdom Monera kingdom Copeland also divided on the basis of body organization, but he separated prokaryotic cell and eukaryotic cell organisms.

They lifted prokaryotic-celled organisms such as bacteria and blue-green algae (cyanobacteria) from the Protista kingdom and placed them in the Monera kingdom.

Now they also made a mistake, what was that mistake that they had left plants and fungi together in the Plantae kingdom? Didn’t pay attention to this kingdom at all. While there is some difference between plants and fungi, what is the difference, read further. Now another system came to rectify this mistake.

Five Kingdoms of the classification system –

The Five Kingdoms of the classification system was given by R. H. Whittaker. He divided this system into five kingdoms. Monera Kingdom, Protista Kingdom, Fungi Kingdom, Plantae Kingdom, and Animalia Kingdom. He gave another kingdom (Fungi).

Whittaker divided this kingdom into 5 bases.

Body Organization – This means the organism is classified on the basis of whether it is unicellular or multicellular.

Cellular Structure – This means the organism is classified on the basis of whether it is a prokaryotic or eukaryotic cell.

Mode of nutrition – This means whether the organism is autotrophic or heterotrophic, is classified on the basis of this.

Reproduction – It means classified on the basis of whether the organism reproduces sexually or asexually.

Phylogenetic Relationship – This means that the organism is classified on the basis of how much it resembles its ancestor.

Characteristics of five kingdoms –

So friends, now we will talk about the five-kingdom, in which kingdom, and what kind of living beings have been kept. What are their characteristics?

What is the Monera kingdom?

Organisms with prokaryotic cells have been placed in this kingdom. In the rest of the four kingdoms, organisms with eukaryotic cells have been kept. It contains bacteria, blue-green algae, and mycoplasma.

The cell wall is found in both, except mycoplasma. Their cell wall is made of Lipopolysaccharide and Peptidoglycan. It does not have a nuclear membrane. Their body is made of a single cell.

Their mode of nutrition is mixed, which means some bacteria and some blue-green algae (cyanobacteria) are autotrophs and the rest are heterotrophs. In these, the method of reproduction is conjugation.

What is Protista kingdom?

Single-celled organisms with eukaryotic cells have been placed in this kingdom. The cell wall is present in only a few of them. It contains a nuclear membrane. Their mode of nutrition is mixed, which means they have both autotrophs and heterotrophs. The method of reproduction in this is gamete-conjugation and conjugation.

What is the Fungi kingdom?

Multicellular organisms with eukaryotic cells have been kept in this kingdom. They have cell wall. Which is made of chitin. It contains a nuclear membrane. Only tissues are found in their body structure, organ systems are not found, and their method of nutrition is heterotrophic or saprophytic and parasitic. Fertilization is the mode of reproduction in these.

What is the Plantae kingdom?

Multicellular organisms with eukaryotic cells have been kept in this kingdom. They have cell wall. Which is made of cellulose. It contains a nuclear membrane. Tissues, organs, and tissue systems are found in their body structure, they are autotrophic. Fertilization is the mode of reproduction in these.

What is the Animalia kingdom?

In this kingdom also multicellular organisms with eukaryotic cells have been kept. They do not have a cell wall. It contains a nuclear membrane. Tissues → organs → organ systems are found in their body structure, they are hosts. Fertilization is the mode of reproduction in these.

The Six Kingdoms of the classification system or the Three Domains of Life –

This system was given by the scientist Carl Woes, before that, the scientist Whittaker had given the five-kingdom systems Monera, Protista, Fungi, Plantae, and Animalia. Now Carl Woes studied these five worlds and said that we are not finding any problem in four worlds, but there is a problem in one world and the name of that world is Monera world. Carl Woes divided the Monera kingdom into two kingdoms.

1. Archaebacteria kingdom or proto-bacteria kingdom
2. Eubacteria kingdom

Now these two worlds and the earlier four kingdoms, Protista, Fungi, Plantae, and Animalia together have become how many kingdoms, 6 kingdoms have become.

Now it comes to the point that why did he call the six kingdoms of the classification systems also the three domains of life.

He said that either speak six kingdoms or put these six kingdoms in three groups.

Archaea kingdom – Archaebacteria kingdom has been kept in this domain.

Bacteria kingdom – This domain has been placed in the Eubacteria kingdom.

Eukarya Kingdom – In this domain, all the organisms with eukaryotic cells have been kept, that is, the organisms of Protista, Fungi, Plantae, and Animalia have been kept.

These three groups are called domains, and the three domains of life are said because all types of living beings are included in these three domains.

Now brother, the main thing that comes to mind is on what basis he had divided the Monera kingdom.

He divided the Monera world on the basis of cell membranes. He observed a difference in the cell membrane of archaebacteria and eubacteria. Let’s know what is the difference.

Differences between Archaebacteria and Eubacteria –

Archaebacteria	Eubacteria
Their cell membrane is having only one layer of lipids (mono layer) and it is branched.	In their cell membrane, only two layers of lipids (bilayer) are meeting and it is parallel.
Peptidoglycan or murein is not found in their cell wall.	Peptidoglycan or murein is found in their cell wall.
Their cell membrane is having only one layer of lipids (monolayer) and it is branched.	They are found in extremely unfavorable conditions.

What are taxonomical aids?

We will need some means for identification, nomenclature, and classification, these means are called “taxonomic aids“.

What are taxonomical aids?

The following taxonomy is a helpful tool.

Herbarium –

The her barium is a place where dead specimens of plants are kept. It is called a her barium. See what that place is, first of all, take a plant and kill it. After that, a flat paper is pasted on the seat, called the herbarium seat.

So that if someone wants to identify, he will go to the herbarium and see the herbarium seat, after that he will see the external shape of that plant and understand in which phylum, order, and genus, such plants have been placed.

Another important question is –

What is the length and width of the herbarium seat?

Its length is 16.5 inches and its width is 11.5 inches.

Botanical Garden –

It is a place where live flora is kept so that those plants which are on the verge of extinction can be saved or preserved.

Museum –

It is a place where the remains of both plant and animal organisms are kept. Now these plants or animals will be kept dry or will be kept in a solution.

If you have ever been to your college museum, you must have seen that small animals are kept in a solution inside a glass case. And this solution is formaldehyde acid (HCHO). Which does not allow the residues to get infected with bacteria or rot.

Zoological Park –

Animals are kept here, if you have ever been to the zoo, then you must have seen many types of animals there, you must have also seen some animals whose names you had only heard. So what does this show that even such creatures have been preserved here which are on the verge of extinction?

Monograph –

This is a book in which one taxon of the plant must have been told.

What is a taxon?

If you have studied taxonomic hierarchy then you would know about Kingdom → Phylum → Class → Order → Family → Genus → Species. This is the seven class. If we take any one class out of these, then that one class is called a taxon.

So it means to say that in this monograph book about the plant kingdom or about the phylum or about the class or about the order or about the family about the genus or about the species It would mean that would have been told.

Flora –

Flora is also a book, inside this book it is told about the habitat of any plant, how is the environment around the place where the plant is growing.

Fauna –

Fona is also a book in which it is told about the habitat of an animal, how is the environment around the place where that animal lives.

FAQs –

Friends, in this article, what is the taxonomy definition? Step-by-step information has been taken about it. Friends, I hope that you will be satisfied with the information given in this article, if you like this information, then share it with your friends.

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