Biology Stack Exchange
Biology Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [taxonomy]

Questions on the classification of biological organisms, and the methods used for classifying them.

See also for the study of relatedness between different organisms.

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Is it correct to regard archeaic humans (i.e.n Neanderthals and Denisovans) as distinct species to Homo sapiens?

There is increasing evidence (e.g. here) that Homo sapiens interbred with contemporary homonins such as Homo neanderthalensis and the "Denisovans". Although these homonins do show differences in their mtDNA, since a species is generally defined as a…
Poshpaws
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Do common terms for animals such as amphibian or reptile fall somewhere in taxonomy levels?

Where in the "ranks" of taxonomy (domain, kingdom, phylum etc.) do common words used to describe animals such as amphibian and reptile fall?
Vanessa
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Why are sponges sometimes not considered multicellular?

I read somewhere (I can't find where) that there is no scientific consensus whether sponges should be considered multicellular organisms. It seems I don't understand where is the line between unicellular and multicellular life. I am not able to find…
martinkunev
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Why are bovines different genera if they can interbreed?

Why are bovinae a "subfamily", above Genus, when members can interbreed? Some like the beefalo are fertile, which is the normal defining characteristic of a species. And Genus are groups more distantly related, so by definition they should not be…
JDługosz
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Application of Latin names for Taxonomy

The current taxonomy has family names like Canidae and Felidae. But Felidae has sub families like Felinae and Pantherinae. Roaring cats and non-roaring cats. My question is based on the fact that we can have common words for these families based in…
Anoop Alex
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What is difference between breed, variant, subspecies and species?

What is the difference between breed, variant, sub-species and species? Are there any similarities between sub-species and sub-population of a region?
Chipboy123
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What is the current state of research on the relationship between sponges, ctenophores, and other animals?

I've been reading about the basal taxonomy of animals recently, and it seems as though there is some controversy surrounding the classification of sponges, ctenophores (comb jellies), and all other animals. One proposal has it that sponges form a…
M. Sperling
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What does it mean to share similarities among living organisms "both horizontally and vertically"?

I came across the following lines in a textbook (NCERT biology for class 11). Systematic and monumental description of life forms, brought in, out of necessity, detailed systems of identification, nomenclature and classification. The biggest spin…
riddhii
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Using spp. for taxa other than Genus

Can spp. be used for taxa other than genus ? For example Noctuidae spp. meaning certain genera in the Noctuidae family.
eric
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Are there comprehensive species descriptions on most species?

I was having a browse through Wikipedia and noticed how even the rarest, hardest to find species of bird have comprehensive articles and comprehensive descriptions, but other species like the 1400 Andrena species have next-to-no information. I tried…
George S
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Are there two varities of dandelion leaves?

This is in India. I noticed a dandelion plant which had the familiar leaves. Right next to it there was another plant which had similar flowers and white tufts, but the leaves were different. Is the second plant also dandelion? I'm asking because…
Nav
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Strain vs. Species

What is the convention between setting that this organism is a strain of a specific species and what are the considerations in saying that this organism is just a strain and not a separate species entirely?
angrycarbocation
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Can species be paraphyletic?

I thought that according to cladistics, only monophyletic groups were valid as species or any other taxa. But extinct species, like say H Erectus must be paraphyletic, as the common ancestor of H Erectus is also the common ancestor of modern man. So…
Stella Langmuir
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How can I find out where the holotype of a species is?

When I visit the Wikispecies page for Synapturanus zombie, it tells me where the holotype is, as does the paper which describes the species. But on visiting the page for Quercus gambelii, the holotype is not listed and the article where the species…
imrobert
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How would extraterrestrial organisms be categorized?

Suppose we find bacteria on Mars, we sequence its genome, and find it is genetically similar to $E. Coli$. Would we categorize it in the $Escherichia$ genus? Or would we put it into a seperate system of classification?
mcchucklezz
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