How to Use Dichotomous Keys

It is important to work through the key beginning at the first couplet. This is because the key is designed to work when you have no idea what the specimen is. If you have a good idea what it is, you probably won't be using the key but looking at pictures in a book.

You might, however, be in between the two states of mind (almost sure and clueless), in which case you could use a key to the particular group to which you think your specimen must belong. Many keys start with a master key to large taxonomic groups (phyla or classes, for example), which leads to a set of keys dividing these groups into lower taxonomic levels. You can try starting at a lower level, although still working through step by step.

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