Science Common Sense
1287 - How are living things classified based on their morphology and structure?
Imagine a big library with lots of books about living things. To keep them organized, we use a system called classification. We group living things based on how they look (morphology) and their internal parts (structure). Here's how:
- Kingdom: We divide living things into six kingdoms: Animals, Plants, Fungi, Protists, Archaebacteria, and Eubacteria.
- Phylum: We group living things in each kingdom by their body structure. For example, animals with backbones are in one group (Vertebrates), and those without backbones are in another (Invertebrates).
- Class: We divide each phylum into smaller groups based on similarities. For example, cats and dogs are in the same class (Mammals) because they have similar body parts.
- Order: We group living things in each class by their physical characteristics. For example, cats and lions are in the same order (Carnivores) because they are meat-eaters.
- Family: We group living things in each order by their close relationships. For example, cats and tigers are in the same family (Felidae) because they are closely related.
- Genus: We group living things in each family by their very close relationships. For example, cats and lions are in different genera, but they are still closely related.
- Species: We group living things that can breed and produce babies with each other. For example, domestic cats are one species (Felis catus).
That's how we classify living things based on their morphology and structure!