Biology: The Living World and Taxonomy

Introduction to Biology
Biology is the science of life forms and living processes.
Early humans distinguished between living and non-living entities.
Systematic descriptions of life forms led to systems of identification, nomenclature, and
classification.
A key realization was that all present-day living organisms are related.

Diversity in the Living World

Nomenclature
Nomenclature is the standardisation of naming living organisms.
A particular organism is known by the same name all over the world.
Nomenclature is possible when the organism is described correctly, allowing identification.
Plants are named based on principles in the International Code for Botanical Nomenclature
(ICBN).
Animals are named based on principles in the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature
(ICZN).
Scientific names ensure each organism has only one name, and the description enables
anyone to arrive at the same name.

Binomial Nomenclature
Each scientific name has two components: the Generic name and the specific epithet.
The system was given by Carolus Linnaeus.
Example: Mangifera indica (mango)
Mangifera represents the genus.
indica is the specific epithet.
Rules:

1. Biological names are generally in Latin and written in italics. They are Latinised or derived from
Latin irrespective of their origin.
2. The first word represents the genus, and the second denotes the specific epithet.
3. When handwritten, both words are separately underlined; when printed, they are in italics.
4. The genus starts with a capital letter, and the specific epithet starts with a small letter.
5. The name of the author appears after the specific epithet in an abbreviated form (e.g.,
Mangifera indica Linn.).
Classification
Classification is grouping anything into convenient categories based on observable
characteristics.
Examples: plants, animals, dogs, cats, insects.
Taxa are the scientific terms for these categories.
Taxa can indicate categories at different levels (e.g., animals, mammals, dogs).

Taxonomy
Taxonomy is the process of classifying all living organisms based on characteristics.
External and internal structure, cell structure, development process, and ecological
information are essential for modern taxonomic studies.
Characterisation, identification, classification, and nomenclature are basic to taxonomy.
Early classifications were based on the 'uses' of various organisms.

Systematics
Systematics studies the relationships among organisms.
The word 'systematics' comes from the Latin word 'systema', meaning systematic
arrangement of organisms.
Linnaeus used Systema Naturae as the title of his publication.
Systematics includes identification, nomenclature, classification, and evolutionary
relationships.

Taxonomic Categories
Classification involves a hierarchy of steps, with each step representing a rank or category.
The taxonomic category is part of the overall taxonomic arrangement.
All categories together constitute the taxonomic hierarchy.
Each category represents a rank and is termed a taxon (plural: taxa).
Common categories: kingdom, phylum/division, class, order, family, genus, and species.
Species is the lowest category.

Species
A group of individual organisms with fundamental similarities.
Distinguished from other closely related species based on distinct morphological differences.
Examples: Mangifera indica, Solanum tuberosum, Panthera leo.
indica, tuberosum, and leo are specific epithets.
Mangifera, Solanum, and Panthera are genera.
Humans: Homo sapiens.

Genus
 A group of related species with more characters in common compared to species of other
genera.
Aggregates of closely related species.
Examples: potato and brinjal belong to the genus Solanum.
Lion (Panthera leo), leopard (P. pardus), and tiger (P. tigris) belong to the genus Panthera.

Family
A group of related genera with fewer similarities compared to genus and species.
Characterised based on both vegetative and reproductive features of plant species.
Examples: Solanum, Petunia, and Datura are placed in the family Solanaceae.
Panthera and Felis (cats) are in the family Felidae.
Cats (Felidae) and dogs (Canidae) are in different families.

Order
Assemblage of families exhibiting a few similar characters.
Similar characters are less numerous compared to genera in a family.
Examples: Convolvulaceae and Solanaceae are included in the order Polymoniales.
The animal order Carnivora includes families like Felidae and Canidae.

Class
Includes related orders.
Example: order Primata (monkey, gorilla, gibbon) is placed in class Mammalia along with
order Carnivora.

Phylum/Division
Classes comprising animals like fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals constitute
the phylum Chordata.
Plants: Classes with a few similar characters are assigned to a higher category called
Division.

Kingdom
All animals are assigned to Kingdom Animalia.
All plants are in Kingdom Plantae.

Taxonomic Hierarchy
Ascending order: Species Genus Family Order Class Phylum/Division Kingdom.
Taxonomists have developed sub-categories for more precise placement of taxa.
As we go higher from species to kingdom, the number of common characteristics decreases.
Lower taxa share more characteristics.
Higher categories have greater difficulty in determining relationships to other taxa at the
same level.