Kingdom Characteristics: Taxonomy
Phylogeny Scientists have used an organism’s chemical make-up and body structure to determine an organism’s phylogeny. Phylogeny: is an organism’s evolutionary history or how an organism has changed over time. A organism’s phylogeny gives scientists clues about the organisms ancestors .
Modern Classification: 6 Kingdom System The classification system used by scientists today is based upon classifying organisms into 6 different groups… The 6 Kingdoms: 1.Archaebacteria 2.Eubacteria 3.Protista 4.Plants 5.Fungi 6.Animals
Archaebacteria Archaebacteria have a different arrangement of the bases in their ribosomal RNA and in the composition of their plasma membranes & cell walls. Three major groups: Methanogens: produce methane; found in sewage treatment plants & bogs. Halophiles: thrive in high salt concentrations: salt lakes or pools of sea water. Thermophiles. heat-loving bacteria found near hydrothermal vents and hot springs. Many are chemosynthetic Archaebacteria emerged at least 3.5 billion years ago and live in environments that resemble conditions existing when the earth was young.
Eubacteria Eubacteria: “true bacteria”, prokaryotic cells. Some Eubacteria can cause health problems like strep throat and food poisoning. Bacteria such as E.coli and Salmonella are sometimes found in undercooked meat and eggs and can make people sick. Other bacteria are good to eat, such as those in yogurt. People have found that some types of Eubacteria can be very useful. Some are used at wastewater treatment plants to help clean the water. Others are also used to make grapes into wine and milk into cheese.
Protista Organisms are eukaryotic & may be either single celled or multicellular. Some of the organisms in this kingdom move, others do not. Organisms may either make their own food or obtain it from other organisms. Example: amoeba
Fungi Organisms are eukaryotic & may be either single celled or multicellular. None of the organisms in this kingdom move. All organisms obtain food from other organisms. Example: mushrooms
Plants Organisms are eukaryotic & multicellular. None of the organisms in this kingdom move. Organisms make their own food. Example: Evergreen Trees
Animals Organisms are eukaryotic & multicellular. All organisms in this kingdom move. All organisms obtain food from other organisms in either the plant or animal kingdom. Example: dog, butterfly, ant
Groups within Kingdoms… Every organism on the Earth is placed into a kingdom. Then assigned to a phylum, the next smallest group. (In the plant kingdom, the term division takes the place of phylum.) Each phylum or division is separated into classes, classes are separated into orders, orders are divided into families, families are divided into genuses, and genuses are divided into species.
Understanding the Divisions… Each division gets smaller & smaller and more specific as you move down. Kingdom is the largest, most encompassing division of classification. Species is the smallest, most specific division of classification.
Example of a bottlenose dolphin’s classification… Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Cetacea Family: Delphinidae Genus: Tursiops Species: truncatus