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Taxonomy Facts & Worksheets

Taxonomy is the science of naming, describing, and classifying species.

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All plants, animals, and microbes on the planet are included in taxonomy, which is the science of naming, describing, and classifying species. 

See the fact file below for more information on Taxonomy, or you can download our 31-page Taxonomy worksheet pack to utilize within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

About Taxonomy

  • Taxonomists detect, describe, and classify species using morphological, behavioral, genetic, and biochemical observations, including some that are new to science.
  • Unfortunately, our understanding of taxonomy is far from complete. Taxonomists have named roughly 1.78 million species of animals, plants, and microbes throughout the last 250 years of research, but the exact number of species is unknown and likely between 5 and 30 million.

History of Taxonomic Hierarchy

  • Aristotle, a Greek philosopher who is credited with inventing biological classification, divided animals based on their habitats, traits, and other factors.
  • Later, in the 18th century, a Swedish botanist named Carolus (Carl) Linnaeus created Taxonomic Hierarchy Categories, and this system of classification is still used today around the world.
  • The series of categories in descending or ascending order is referred to as a taxonomic hierarchy. In the hierarchy, kingdom is at the top and species is at the bottom.

What is Taxonomic Hierarchy?

  • The Greek words “taxis,” which mean arrangement or division, and “nomos,” which mean method, are the roots of the English word “taxonomy.”
  • The classification of many living organisms is referred to as taxonomy, a discipline of biology. An organized group of organisms is referred to as a taxon.
  • “Taxonomic hierarchy is the process of arranging various organisms into successive levels of the biological classification either in a decreasing or an increasing order from kingdom to species and vice versa.”
  • The taxonomic category or rank refers to each level of the hierarchy. Kingdom is always listed first in this system of classification, then division, class, order, family, genus, and species.

Taxonomic Hierarchy Categories

Kingdom

  • The highest level of categorization, the kingdom, is subdivided into numerous levels of subcategories. The classification of living things is done into five kingdoms: Animalia, Plantae, Fungi, Protista, and Monera.
  • North American ecologist Robert Whittaker was the first to categorize living things into five major kingdoms. This scientist disproved the notion that fungus were plant beings in 1959, and a decade later he recommended the establishment of the fungi kingdom to distinguish fungi from plants.
  • The scientific world then added a new group to the earlier four-kingdom system, developed by the American biologist Herbert Copeland in 1956, as a result of Whittaker’s theory being generally accepted.

Characteristics of Kingdoms

  • Nutrition — Autotrophic (makes its own food) or heterotrophic (feeds on other living things).
  • Cell organization – Unicellular (having only one cell) or multicellular (having two or more cells).
  • Cell type — Eukaryotes (the genetic material is surrounded by a membrane) or prokaryotes (lacking a membrane).
  • Respiration — Aerobic (needs oxygen) or anaerobic (does not use oxygen)
  • Reproduction — Sexual, asexual or through spores
  • Movement — Self-moving or static

Kingdom Animalia

  • The most developed kingdom, Animalia, is made up of two major groups: vertebrates and invertebrates. These creatures are heterotrophic, multicellular eukaryotes with aerobic respiration, sexual reproduction, and locomotion.
  • Based on whether or not each animal has a backbone, the creatures have been separated into two groups. The observable characteristic that distinguishes an animal as a vertebrate or an invertebrate is its backbone. Vertebrates have a backbone while invertebrates do not.
  • These groups are separated into more manageable “sub-groups.” Subgroups of the invertebrate group include sponges, corals, worms, insects, spiders, and crabs; they lack a backbone.
  • Different subgroups of vertebrates, including fish, reptiles, birds, amphibians, and mammals, all have internal skeletons and backbones.

Kingdom Plantae

  • The Plantae kingdom, one of the earliest and distinguished by its stationary, multicellular, and eukaryotic nature, includes trees, plants, and other forms of vegetation.
  • Since they release oxygen through photosynthesis, these autotrophic organisms, whose cells include cellulose and chlorophyll, are crucial for life on Earth.
  • They can reproduce sexually or asexually, depending on the situation.

Kingdom Fungi

  • The fungal kingdom, which includes yeasts, molds, and all varieties of mushrooms and toadstools, is referred to by this name.
  • These multicellular aerobic heterotrophic eukaryotes feed on other living things, have chitin in their cell walls, and procreate through spores.

Kingdom Protista

  • All other eukaryotic groups are descended from this one, which is the most primitive group. The Protista kingdom, which comprises protozoa and other eukaryotic species not considered to be animals, plants, or fungi, is paraphyletic, meaning that it contains the common ancestor but not all of its offspring.
  • Since its members share relatively little, it is challenging to categorize it due to its extreme heterogeneity.

Kingdom Monera

  • This term refers to the kingdom of microscopic life, which includes prokaryotes (archaea and bacteria).
  • This group, which consists of single-celled organisms without a distinct nucleus, is found in all settings.
  • The majority of bacteria are heterotrophic and aerobic, whereas the majority of archaea are anaerobic and have chemosynthetic metabolisms.

Phylum

  • More detailed than the kingdom, this level of categorization is the next one. Animalia is divided into 35 phyla. Porifera, Chordata, Arthropoda, etc. are a few examples.

Class

  • Prior to the introduction of phyla, class was the taxonomic hierarchy most broad rank. There are 108 classes in the kingdom animalia, such as the mammalia, reptilia, aves, etc. The current classes, which are infrequently used, differ from the ones Linnaeus recommended.

Order

  • Class is a more general rank than order. One or more families that are similar to one another make up the order. Mammalia is divided into about 26 orders, including primates, carnivora, and others.

Family

  • Numerous genera that have some similarities are included in this taxonomic hierarchy group. For instance, the Canidae, Felidae, Ursidae, etc., are families of the order Carnivora.

Genus

  • A genus is made up of several related species. Some genera are monotypic, meaning they have just one species, while others are polytypic, meaning they contain multiple species. Lions and tigers, for instance, belong to the genus Panthera.

Species

  • The taxonomic hierarchy’s lowest level is this one. On earth, there are around 8.7 million distinct species. It describes a collection of organisms with comparable form, morphology, and reproductive characteristics. Sub-species can be found within a species.

Binomial Nomenclature

  • Carl Linnaeus developed the binomial nomenclature system. It is quite difficult to identify an organism internationally and keep track of the number of species when it has multiple local names. As a result, there is a lot of confusion.
  • A common procedure was developed to clear up this misconception. It states that every organism will have a single scientific name that is used universally to identify an organism. Binomial Nomenclature is the name given to this system of standardizing names.
  • The biological system of identifying organisms known as binomial nomenclature uses names made up of two terms, the first of which denotes the organism’s genus and the second of which denotes its species.
  • All living things have scientific names, including plants, animals, birds, and certain bacteria. For example, Panthera tigris is given as the tiger’s scientific name. The word “Panthera” refers to the genus, whereas the word “Tigris” denotes a specific species or epithet.
  • Homo sapiens is the moniker given to mankind by scientists. “Homo” stands for the genus, and “sapiens” for a specific species.
  • The scientific name for the Indian bullfrog is Rana tigrina. The name of the genus is Rana, and the name of the particular species is Tigrina.

Rules of Binomial Nomenclature

  • When naming the creatures, biologists from all around the world adhere to the same set of standards. The naming system is standardized by two international codes that are accepted by all biologists worldwide. As follows:
    • The biological nomenclature for plants is covered by the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature (ICBN).
    • The biological nomenclature of animals is covered by the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN).
  • These codes guarantee that each organism has a unique name that may be recognized worldwide.
  • Conventions are followed in the naming. Two elements make up each scientific name: Generic name and specific epithet.
  • Latin is typically used for all scientific names of organisms. As a result, they are italicized. A name has two components. The genus and species are identified by the first and second words, respectively.
  • The names are italicized if typed, or underlined if they are written. This is done to indicate its latin heritage.
  • The name of the species comes before the name of the genus, which begins with a capital letter.

Importance of Binomial Nomenclature

  • The world is home to millions of different species of organisms, as was previously said. Additionally, multiple names for the same creatures exist throughout the world, which makes it difficult to classify or identify them.
  • Binomial nomenclature was therefore seen to be a workable answer to this issue.

Importance of Taxonomy

  • Human activities are destroying global biodiversity at an unprecedented rate, and actions must be made now to reverse this trend. But how do decision-makers know where to set up protected areas if they don’t know what they’re protecting?
  • If regulators can’t tell the difference between invasive species and native species, how can they recognize and combat them? How can poor countries ensure that they benefit from the usage of their biological diversity if they are unaware of the biological diversity in question?
  • Taxonomy gives a basic grasp of the components of biodiversity, which is required for effective conservation and sustainable use decision-making.

Taxonomy Worksheets

This is a fantastic bundle that includes everything you need to know about Taxonomy across 31 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use worksheets that are perfect for teaching kids about Taxonomy, which is the science of naming, describing, and classifying species.

Complete List of Included Worksheets

Below is a list of all the worksheets included in this document.

  1. Taxonomy Factfile
  2. Hierarchy History
  3. Kingdom Come
  4. Breaking News
  5. Essay Entry
  6. Study Tips
  7. Daily Crossword
  8. Poster Making
  9. Time to Recall
  10. Binomial Nomenclature
  11. Phylum Photos

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is taxonomy so important?

Taxonomy is the system scientists use to group and organize organisms. This helps us understand life on Earth better and makes it easier to share knowledge about biology. Taxonomy uses a hierarchical system to achieve this.

What are the main features of taxonomy?

Taxonomy is the study of categorization. Organisms are put into similar groups, such as kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, and species. Species are classified based on traits that they share in common.

When was taxonomy founded?

The modern taxonomic system, which was created in 1758 by Carolus Linnaeus with his work Systema Naturae, encompasses over 8,000 organisms.

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Use With Any Curriculum

These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.

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