
Organisms • Identified, grouped, and classified • More effectively study and communicate about them • Plants and animals are classified or grouped together by characteristics they have in common
They may be characterized by • The uses people make of them • Physical characteristics • Other categories used to put similar animals together
Classification • Several ways of classifying agricultural animals • Agricultural animals have been domesticated for some type of human use • These animals have been developed into breeds having distinctive characteristics and distinctive uses
Scientific Classification • Binomial nomenclature: Giving two names in Latin • System developed by Swedish Botonist named Linnaeus
Binomial Nomenclature • Genus: First name, always capitalized • Species: Second name, always lowercase • Both are underlined!
Latin • Was used because at the time, it was the international language of scholars • Many languages of the world were based on Latin.
Example • Cattle: Bos taurus • Pigs: Sus scrofa • Horses: Equus caballus • Sheep: Ovis aries • Dogs: Canis familiaris
Common Names • Are often confusing • Different organisms can have similar or the same common name • Different parts of the country may have different common names for the same animal.
Scientific Classification • Orderly and systematic approach to identification • Broad groups of animals are classified together in categories of common characteristics
Scientific Classification • Each group is then broken down further into smaller categories • Process is repeated until the groups cannot be categorized into smaller groups.
Seven Levels of Classification • Kingdom- largest • Phyla • Class • Order • Family
Seven Levels of Classification • Genus • Species- smallest
Kingdoms • Animalia: all multicelled animals • Plantae: multicellular plants that produce chlorophyll through photosynthesis
Kingdoms • Monera: bacteria and blue-green algae • Protista: paramecia and amoebae • Fungi: mushrooms and other fungi
Kingdom • The Kingdom animalia includes all animals ranging from a tiny gnat to huge whales. Because of this diversity we have to further subdivide into phyla.
Phyla • The primary divisions of the kingdom Animalia • The kingdom animalia is divided into twenty-seven phyla.
Phyla • The word phyla comes from the Greek word phulon meaning race or kind • Several phyla are divided into subphyla • Most agricultural animals belong to the phylum Chordata
Phyla • Chordata is divided into subphylas • Vertebrata – animals with backbones
Classes • The phyla and subphyla are further divided into classes. • Agricultural animals such as horses, cattle, goats, sheep, and pigs belong to the class Mammalia.
Classes • Amphibia: frogs, toads • Reptilia: turtles, snakes, lizards • Aves: birds • Mammalia: horses, cattle, pigs
Orders • Classes are divided into smaller groups that categorize animals within a class that possess certain characteristics called orders.
Order • The class Mammalia contains eighteen different orders including • Primates – humans • Artiodactyla – cows, goats, sheep, pigs
Artiodactyla • The order Artiodactyla have three suborders. • Suiformes: pigs, hippopotami
Artiodactyla • Tylopoda: camels, llamas • Ruminantia: deer, cattle, sheep
Families • Orders and suborders still have to be broken down smaller. These are called families.
Genus and Species • The final categories of the scientific classification system are genus and species.
Genus and Species • The Genus and Species are also an animal’s scientific name. • These are always Latin or latinized
Classification of Breeds • A breed of animals is defined as a group of animals with a common ancestry and common characteristics that breed true.
Classification of Breeds • Breeding true: means that the offspring will almost always look like the parents
Selective Breeding • Choosing the best and desired animals and using those animals for breeding purposes.
Purebreds • These are animals whose ancestors are of only one breed.
Breed Associations • An organization that promotes a certain breed of animal. They control the registration process of purebred animals of that breed.
Blood Typing • Not only physical characteristics are used in breed identification. • Blood typing is analyzing and animals blood to determine their history.
Crossbreeding • Sometimes species can be successfully crossed to produce new breeds.
Example • One of the first successful breeds: Santa Gertrudis, which a cross between Shorthorn breed of cattle with the Brahman breed of cattle.
Classification According to Use • Meat Animals • Work Animals
Classification of Horses • Cutting horses: used to heard and work cattle • Draft Breeds: used to pull wagons and heavy loads
Classification of Horses • Harness Horses: used for pulling sulkies or light carriages
Dual-Purpose Animals • An animal that is raised for more than one purpose.
Examples • Cows and Calves • Sheep • Camels (in the desert of the Middle East)