Question

Explain the term species and hierarchical classification.

Answer 1

The branch of science which deals with the naming, classifying, and defining organisms is called taxonomy. Every organism is given a taxonomic rank which creates a taxonomic hierarchy. These ranks are arranged in descending order like kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, and species.

Complete answer: Carl Linnaeus gave rise to the current taxonomic methods that aim to classify and name organisms. He developed a categorizing system and binomial nomenclature for the naming of organisms. Every organism is provided with different taxonomic ranks. The highest rank provided to an organism is called the Kingdom and the lowest rank is called the species. The classification system creates a hierarchical system for categorizing organisms. Thus, the taxonomic hierarchy is the sequence of categories either in an increasing or decreasing order. Based on certain characters that organisms exhibit, they are placed in a group of organisms and this group is classified as a unit. Species are one of the units of hierarchical classification. It is the most basic unit of classification and it is the lowest rank. It is defined as a group of organisms in which two individuals of the opposite sex can mate and produce viable offspring. Typically species are regarded as organisms that are capable of viable sexual reproduction. Their DNA, morphology, karyotypes and ecological niches are similar to each other. All species are given two names or binomial names.

Note: The common names given to organisms may create confusion as they mean different in different regions of the world. Thus, organisms must have a standard name. This is the reason that binomial nomenclature aims at providing scientific names to organisms and hence is an essential taxonomical field.