Questions on the classification of biological organisms, and the methods used for classifying them.
See also phylogenetics for the study of relatedness between different organisms.
Questions tagged [taxonomy]
280 questions
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Why isn't a virus "alive"?
The recent news about a new supermassive virus being discovered got me thinking about how we define viruses as non-living organisms whilst they are bigger than bacteria, and much more complex than we first gave them credit for.
What biological…
James
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Do humans have enough biological differences to be grouped into races or subspecies?
After my online research on the subject, I learnt that, biologically speaking, many scientists believe that there is no such thing as a race. Homo sapiens as a species is only 200,000 years old, which has not allowed for any significant genetic…
Th334
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Human evolution: Where *exactly* did the first human come from, whose parents were not?
Layman here. So I have never really quite understood this facet of human evolution, (or any other for that matter), in that, I understand the evolutionary process, but I get lost on the 'border' cases.
For example, we, as humans, evolved from…
Spacey
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Can 'human' become a genus due to space colonization?
I have read that during the Second World War, some mosquitoes got trapped in the London underground railway system. The mosquitoes never got out and eventually they became a new species by themselves.
I had a similar thought. In the next few…
PNS
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Why do both the mango and the bee have "Indica" in their binomial name?
In my textbook, it is written that the binomial name of mango is Mangifera indica and the binomial name of a bee is Apis indica. Now in the name the second part is the name of species. But mango and bee are not the same species. One is a tree and…
Asif Iqubal
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Why are turtles classified as reptiles and not amphibians?
I understand that turtles are reptiles because like all reptiles, they have scales on their body. But turtles (specifically sea turtles) live on both land and water, very much like amphibians. Also, don't sea turtles have more of a moist skin unlike…
Irena
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When has an organism evolved enough to be called a new species?
Imagine that we take a population of horses, split them in half and place them in completely different environments. The two species will evolve separate from each other and because the environment is different, the outcome of evolution will be…
Simon Verbeke
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How to decide which is the correct scientific name for a particular species
To start with, I am not a person having sound knowledge in biology. When I started my search for phyto-chemicals in a particular family in the plant kingdom, I got confused. The scientific papers use a particular name, and when I searched in these 2…
Anil
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How is the concept of species defined in asexual organisms?
In asexual organisms such as bacteria, archea and some fungi, as well as in some plants where asexual reproduction is the only reproductive strategy, how can we be unambiguous in defining if an organism belong to a different species from another or…
Saul Pierotti
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Skull mystery on beach
The skull was found on a beach on the Sechelt inlet on Canada's pacific coast. A marine environment.
What species is this skull from?
Rusty biologist
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14
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Explaining "paraphyly" for the layperson?
I was a molecular biology major a while ago, but I never think I really understood cladistics TBH. Now reading about paraphyly, it shows this:
In this phylogenetic tree [second image], the green group is paraphyletic; it is composed of a common…
Lance
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13
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What insect is this? (India)
Can anyone tell me what kind of insect (if it is one) is this...!! Or is it the pupa of some insect?
Well I don't think that the whole big thing is the insect itself, it appears to be just a kind of protection or shelter which moves along with the…
Shefali
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To which distinctions does the term "hymenoptera" refer?
Hymenoptera is an order of insects that includes bees, ants, and wasps. A quick search gives the following etymological analysis of the term hymenoptera.
hymen (membrane) + pteron (wing)
Does the term hymenoptera have a firm basis in biology and…
Daniel Standage
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Are there any open plant databases (database/library/collection), containing species information and pictures?
I would like to download a plant database containing photos and species details. Do you know if there are any openly available online?
Eszter
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What is the scientific name of this plant?
I found this one on a hill here in Palestine. It's about 20 cm in height. Note that it does exist in this regions, but scantily.
Blackbeard
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