Taxonomy

To live in the midst of diversity we have to make sense of it: to do this we give things names. If several things are sufficiently similar, they make up a class and we give that a name. We can then assign individual objects and organisms to their class: 'A tree!' or 'A cat!'

Life's filing cabinet

Identification is thus the placing of individuals in a category.

Classification, on the other hand, is 'the ordering of objects into classes', that is, the definition of groups of objects of similar type. This can take place on different levels - the groups are collected into more inclusive groups, forming a hierarchy. In biology each level has its particular name and implications for the relationship of the groups included in it.

Taxonomy is the science of classifing organisms. It is, says Ernst Mayr, the theory and practice of delimiting kinds of organisms and of classifying them. Taxonomy is the study of the rules by which taxa are ordered. A taxon (plural taxa) is simply a group or category of organisms.

When founded on evolutionary principles taxonomy is known as systematics.

Using the links on this page you can visit our Taxonomy museum and also see an overview of the Classification of Life.

Each site will open in a new window.