Classification of Organisms

Living organisms are classified mainly to avoid confusion, to make study of organisms easy and learn how various organisms are related to each other. Scientists classified living organisms into different kingdoms, phylum, class, etc and are based on different criteria. Let’s explore more about why living organisms are classified? Our mother planet is a home for millions to billions of living species from small microbes to huge animals and humans. In our surroundings, we can see different types of plants, insects, birds and animals. Based on certain specialised features, these living species have been classified into their respective categories. There are several different species of animals, birds, insects and plants, which vary in their mode of nutrition, their habitat, and life cycle. Their names also differ from place to place, even within a country. To avoid this kind of confusion, scientists have classified and named them according to their characters.

What is Classification?

Classification is an organised way of classifying different species into the group that they belong to. It is the process of placing organisms into a taxonomic group (such as species, genus, family etc.) based on certain identifiable characteristics shared by the members of that group. Binomial Nomenclature is a method of naming organisms which is used by scientists. This is a common way to name different species or organisms. It is mainly used for naming different plants and animals. In order to know more about this, we will write the definition of classification on the basis of examples..

Types of Classification:

There are different types of classification like kingdom, phylum and class for living organisms.

Kingdom: Kingdom is the broadest and highest category and is usually further divided into several categories. There are three types of kingdom as explained below:

Phylum: Phylum (or division) is a broad classification consisting of several classes. It refers to a much higher level than the class. Like kingdom, there are three types of phyla as follows:

Class: A class is a large group that consists of related groups. For example, mammals, insects, and birds belong to different classes. There are two types of class as follow:

Subclass: A subclass is smaller than class but larger than order and it can be present in either phylum or class. For example, in birds, the class is called order. Order includes families or various types of species. Order is further divided into subclasses, which are usually smaller than subclass but larger than order. If a subclass is smaller than subclass and larger than order, it is called order too. For example in fishes, the class is known as monophyletic order.

Family: A family is a group of related species having common features like eggs & young development (egg laying), breathing air and so on. Families are classified into subfamily & tribe and more subdivisions can be made if necessary to illustrate their relationship to each other.

Genus: A group of related species or group of lower rank is known as genus. More subdivisions can be made if required to illustrate their relationship to each other.

Species: A group of similar individuals that can reproduce with each other under natural conditions is called species. No further subdivision is possible beyond this level in biological classification.

Higher Classification:

In biology, the term higher classification refers to the grouping of organisms into larger taxa based on shared characteristics and relationships. That is, the higher one goes in classification, the narrower the definitions used become (though they may also become more detailed). The highest level a division can be placed at is that of Kingdom, which includes all living organisms (plants and animals).

What are the benefits of Biological Classification?

Biological classification is very important in biology because it helps us to organise, understand and study life. This system of classification divides living organisms into groups based on their similarities and differences, and allows scientists to compare living things to one another.

It also helps scientists predict the evolutionary relationships between different species. In other words, by studying classification we can learn how all of the different creatures on this planet are related to each other.

The biological classification system is useful because it organises life into a hierarchy, with each level becoming more specific as we move up through the ranks of kingdom, phylum, classes etc. The different levels are also related to each other, which makes it easy to put one group of organisms into another. For example, the class Mammalia is part of the phylum Chordata, which in turn is part of the kingdom Animalia. The previous level is called a superphylum and it includes all living things that are more closely related to each other than to their own phylum.

For some groups (such as the birds) there is a very clear evolutionary relationship between species and subspecies and so biologists can use this classification for studying how these populations have changed over time.

Conclusion:

As we move up in classification, the grouping becomes smaller and smaller, by going into greater detail. For example, a species is a group of individuals that can interbreed and produce fertile offspring. A subspecies is a group of individuals within a species that has its own unique qualities. There are many ways to classify living organisms; we usually use the scientific method to classify living things in such a way that they make sense based on their shared characteristics. Classification provides scientists with the tools they need to study life and better understand the world around them.