Taxonomical Aids

Taxonomy is the branch of biology concerned with the study of an organism’s identification, categorization, and naming. The method used to categorise diverse species into distinct groups necessitates a large quantity of laboratory and field research. Taxonomic categorization aids in the identification of various creatures that play important roles in bio resources, industries, agriculture, and other fields. 

Taxonomical aids:

Taxonomic aids are collections of samples or preserved species that aid in extended investigation for taxonomic hierarchy identification. The classification of organisms into distinct categories necessitates extensive field and laboratory research. This is an important process since taxonomic categorization aids in the identification of numerous creatures that are required in various domains such as agriculture, industry, bio resources, and so on. 

The major source for examining the relative level of a group of organisms, their taxonomic hierarchy, and taxonomic rank is taxonomic aids. 

Requirement of taxonomical aids:

1. Taxonomic studies are investigations into the categorization and identification of numerous species of plants, animals, and other things. 
2. The identification of organisms necessitates both laboratory and field research. 
3. Museum. 
4. Herbarium. 
5. Zoos and zoological parks. 
6. Botanical Gardens. 

Types of taxonomical aids:

The following are the types of taxonomical aids:

Herbarium:

1. A herbarium is a place where plant specimens are kept.
2. It is a collection of dried, pressed plant specimens arranged in a systematic manner according to a universally accepted classification system.
3. In much of Herbaria, the Bentham and Hooker system is used.
4. The specimens are mounted on Herbarium sheets, which are approximately 2843(+1or–1)cm in length. 
5. The following information should be included on the Herbarium sheet: 

• Date of collection
• Vernacular names (local names)
• Scientific name
• Family
• Habitat
• Description
• Collector’s name 

1. For taxonomic investigations, the herbarium provides a silent reference. Herbaria are found in all botanical research institutes.
2. The Royal Botanical Garden at Kew, England, has the world’s biggest herbarium, which was founded in 1853.
3. There are around 6.5 million plant specimens in all.

Keys:

1. Another taxonomic aid is key, which is used to identify plants and animals based on similarities and differences.
2. There are two types of keys: dichotomous (bracketed and indented) and poly clave (bracketed and indented).
3. Dichotomous Keys is a type of key in which there are only two possible couplets. Indented Keys, also known as yoked keys, and Bracketed Keys are the two forms of dichotomous keys.
4. Poly clave key is a newer alternative to dichotomous keys that is gaining popularity, owing to its ease of computerization. It is also known as multiple access or synoptic key. This key is based on the elimination method of species identification.
5. The keys are based on a pair of opposing characters known as a couplet.

Botanical garden:

Botanical gardens are areas where different types of plants from all over the world are grown together in a controlled atmosphere.

1. It could include a variety of rare, elite, and exotic species.
2. It has a high level of biodiversity and is important for germplasm conservation.
3. All plants in the Botanical Garden have identification plates with their common name, botanical name, and the name of the family to which they belong.
4. The world’s Botanical Gardens number around 526. Every Botany teaching institute will have a modest Botanical Garden. 

Biological museum:

It is a study and reference collection of preserved plant and animal species.

1. Specimens are preserved in jars with alcohol and formalin preservative solutions.
2. Only those plants that aren’t suitable for the herbarium are saved. 
3. Algae, fungus, mosses, ferns, succulents, fruits, and other items are among them. Fish, reptiles, amphibians, and other animals are also kept. 
4. Skeletons of large animals are preserved. Inside the bug cages, insects are dried and put on pins.

1. Others are conserved at the Biological Museum as dry specimens. 

Zoological park:

A zoological park is an enclosed place where wild animals are maintained in an open, natural, yet safe environment while being cared for by humans.

1. The best places to study wild animal behaviour and food habitats are zoological parks.
2. Zoological parks aid in the conservation and multiplication of endangered animals through captive breeding.
3. There are approximately 200 zoological parks in India.
4. Children, students, and the general public can visit zoological parks to see wild animals. 

Conclusion:

These taxonomic tools aid in the storage and preservation of data as well as specimens. Actual specimens of animal and plant species are required for taxonomic studies and are the primary source of data. These skills are also necessary for systematics training, which is used to classify organisms.