TEKS B.8 (A) - Taxonomy

The gray squirrel, Eastern fox squirrel, and red squirrel are all different species of squirrels. Why is having a scientific name for each species of an organism important?

• To prevent existing named organisms from having their names changed as they become extinct

• To keep the classification system from being altered as new organisms are discovered

• To allow organisms to be placed in many classification levels at the same time

• To standardize the naming and organization of organisms to avoid confusion

Organisms are classified today using the Linnaean system, and the following table shows the taxonomic classification of two marine organisms living along the Pacific Coast.

Taxonomic classification is important to marine biologists because it provides a way to -

• prove that marine evolution occurs

• discover and name every marine organism on Earth

• designate Latin as the universal language of marine biology

• identify marine organisms and find evolutionary relationships between them

Scientists around the world use a standardized taxonomic system. Scientists use a standardized taxonomic system because

(a)  

• it avoids confusion with the identification of org
• Linnaeus established the system
• Latin names can be applied for a practical purpose.
• it places organisms in different groups

Adult mountain lions (Puma concolor) are almost 2 meters long. They have a black spot over each eye. The common names used throughout the United States for this species are listed below.

Why is it best for scientists to use the name from the standardized taxonomic system?

• The standardized name differentiates mountain lions and pumas.

• The standardized name is less descriptive of the animal that has been observed.

• Communication with other scientists about mountain lions will be reduced.

• All scientists will be using one name for mountain lions.

The Linnaean taxonomic system classifies organisms into divisions called taxa. If two organisms belong to the same taxonomic group, they are related. Similarity at which of these levels indicates the closest relationship?

(a)  

• Genus
• Kingdom
• Class
• Order