Classification: What? Why?

Biodiversity

• There are 13 billion know species of organisms.
• This is only 5% of the organisms that ever lived!
• New organisms are still being found and identified.

So what is classification?

• Classification is the arrangement of organisms into orderly groups based on their similarities.
• Classification is also known as taxonomy.
• Taxonomists are scientists that identify and name organisms.   

 Why do we need to classify organisms?

• It is easier to compare similarities between organisms.
• It is easier to compare differences between organisms.
• We can find certain organisms easily by using their characteristics.
• Accurately and uniformly names organisms.
• Prevents misnomers such as starfish and jellyfish that aren’t really fish.
• Uses same language (Latin or some Greek) for all names.