Classification and Naming of the Biological Species Essay (Article)

How Living Things are named

The current system of naming things was developed by Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778). This system is known as the Binomial Naming System and uses Latin to name things since it was the universal language of science when the system was developed. The genus and species names are written in italics, with the genus name starting with an upper case letter and the species name starting with a lower case letter, e.g., Homo sapiens, Phyllomedusa callidryas, Toxicocendron vernix, etc. Organisms in a particular structure are distinguished by having similar characteristics or features.

For example, all oak trees are similar in nature, and therefore go by the same genus name Quercus. Lastly, a species identifies the exact organism being referred to in a particular genus. However, it should be noted that the species name by itself may not be very specific, thus the need to combine the genus and species names when referring to a particular organism. In other words, some organisms have similar species names (State University System para 2-8).

Classification

1. Distinguishing Characteristics: The first characteristic is that all mammals have 3 middle ear bones, referred to as the malleus (hammer), incus (anvil), and the stapes (stirrup). Second, all mammals have hair at some point in their development. Third, all mammals produce milk through modified sweat glands known as the mammalian glands (Wund & Myers para. 2)
2. The Purposes of Hair: some of the purposes of hair include insulating the organism from varying weather conditions, color patterning, and assisting in the sense of touch (Wund & Myers para. 2).
3. Species: There are about 5000 species of mammals
4. Orders: The species are placed in 26 orders
5. Order Selected: Perissodactyla, which includes horses, rhinoceroses, and tapirs
6. Characteristics of the order: The middle toes of animals listed in this order is larger than the other ones, in addition to the fact that the plane of symmetry of the foot goes through the middle toe. The latter condition is called mesaxonic (Myers para. 1).
7. Family Selected: Equidae, which includes asses, horses, and zebras.
8. Characteristics of the family: They inhabit a multiplicity of habitats, ranging from lush grasslands and tropical areas to sandy and rocky deserts; they are usually thick-skulled animals with sturdy bodies; they are characteristically heavily haired though the length of the hair may vary depending on conditions; the majority of animals within this family are swift runners because they have long slender limbs with one functional digit called the mesaxonic; they use the tips of their toes for walking; in the foreleg of animals within this family; the radius and ulna are joined, and the ulna is proportionately condensed so that all weight is supported by the radius; in the hind leg of animals within this family, the extended tibia acts to support the weight, and the fibula is characteristically reduced and joined to the tibia (Ballenger & Myers para 1-2). Members of this family have 40-42 teeth, and the canines are vestigial or non-existent in females; their cheek teeth bear an intricate structure, not mentioning that they are hypsodont, that is, they have four main columns and diverse infoldings, which are much cemented; They have long skulls; their nasal bones are also long, slender, and generously projecting towards the anterior; the orbit is located deep into the skull and behind the teeth; females within this family come into heat a number of times in a year or until they become expectant; although they are known to run from danger rather than fight, they have potential lethal kicks, and they can also bite in self-defense; they are active both during the day and at night, though they are mainly crepuscular; animals within this family are entirely herbivorous; they are polygamous herd animals and normally reside in extended family groups; they communicate through altering the ear, mouth, and tail positions
9. Common Name: Horse
10. Genus and Species name: the genus name is Equus. The species name is Equus caballus

Birds

1. Distinguishing characteristics: horny beak; feathers; no teeth; large muscular stomach; large yolked, hard-shelled eggs, and strong skeleton
2. Species: There are about 10,000 species of birds
3. Orders: The species are found in about 30 orders of birds
4. Order Selected: Galliformes
5. Characteristics: chicken-like in physical appearance, with petite to huge bodies and blunt wings; plumage tinge ranges from enigmatic to dark to intensely colorful; may be principally arboreal or terrestrial; they may live as solitary dwellers, mated twosomes, or sociable flocks; exercises a variety of mating systems, from monogamous to polygyny to polygynanadry; lay eggs; convoluted head and neck ornamentation; legs are generally sturdy, and a few spurs may attach on the tarsus; mainly endothermic and maintain bilateral symmetry; exhibit sexual dimorphism, whereby the males are larger and brightly colored; may live on the ground or in tress; internal fertilization of the female eggs; seasonal breeding; oviparous; and “communicate through behavioral posturing, morphological features, vocalizations and other auditory signals” (Howard para. 8).
6. Common name of organism: Wild Turkey
7. Genus and Species Name: The genus name is Meleagris, while the species name is Meleagris gallopavo

Insects

1. Two other important characteristics of Anthropoda: bilaterally proportioned protostomes with sturdily segmented bodies comprising of the head, thorax and abdomen; and their body surface is covered with an exoskeleton which is principally made of chitin engulfed in a protein matrix.
2. Species: There are over one million insect species which have already been named, and studies reveal that insect species that are yet to be named could be several times that number.
3. Features shared: They do not attain a large body size; body consists of 3 tagmata, namely, head, thorax, and abdomen; have comparatively large compound eyes and normally 3 ocelli situated on the head; most have a pair of antennae, also situated on the head; according to Myers, “mouthparts [consists] of a labrum, a pair of mandibles, a pair of maxillae, a labium, and a tongue-like hypopharynx” (para. 2). Insects exhibit two pairs of wings and three pairs of greatly segmented walking legs. Insects have complete and complicated digestive tract; breathe through a well developed tracheal system; have a complex nervous system; some are sensitive to sounds; dioeciuos, and most have internal fertilization system; during fertilization, males locate a receptive female through a multiplicity of chemicals generated by the female; in some insects, hatching eggs bring into being diminutive adults, which to grow must discard their exoskeleton in a process known as ecdyisis; in many insects, the newly hatched young insects assumes a physical appearance that is completely different from adults; once the larva is completely developed, it stops feeding and transforms itself into a pupa or chrysalis; while encased in its cocoon, the larva undergoes a process known as metamorphosis, and its body form is completely changed into a fully-formed adult (Myers para. 3-5).
4. Order selected: Anoplura.
5. General type of insect: sucking lice.

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