Classifying Organisms
Biological classification is a critical step in the taxonomic process, as it informs the user as to what the relatives of the taxon are hypothesized to be. Although the discipline of taxonomy itself does not deal with the investigations of how taxa are related to one another, it does serve to communicate these results to the user. To do this, it uses taxonomic ranks, including, among others (in order from most inclusive to least inclusive): Domain, Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, and Species.
Read more about this topic: Taxonomy
Famous quotes containing the word organisms:
“The white man regards the universe as a gigantic machine hurtling through time and space to its final destruction: individuals in it are but tiny organisms with private lives that lead to private deaths: personal power, success and fame are the absolute measures of values, the things to live for. This outlook on life divides the universe into a host of individual little entities which cannot help being in constant conflict thereby hastening the approach of the hour of their final destruction.”
—Policy statement, 1944, of the Youth League of the African National Congress. pt. 2, ch. 4, Fatima Meer, Higher than Hope (1988)