Classification of Living Fossils:
Living fossils are classified by two main characteristics.
- Living organisms that are members of a taxon that has remained recognizable in the fossil record over an unusually long time span.
- They show little morphological divergence, whether from early members of the lineage or among extant species.
Developing Classification from Extent Organism:
- Organisms such as animals, plants, fungi, and single-celled organisms are divided into several groupings that are used by scientists to classify them.
- This is known as the taxonomic hierarchy, with the largest groupings being known as a Kingdom, Animalia (all animals), for example. The narrowest definition, putting aside the issue of varieties stated by many plant breeders, is the species.
- All organisms have a two-part species name; this is comprised of the genus and then the specific or trivial name, such as the African lion being known as Panthera Leo.
- In this instance, Panthero relates to the genus to which African lions belong, and the trivial or specific name identifying the species is Leo.
- This two-stage species name is referred to as the binomial, and the naming of organisms using this methodology is called binomial nomenclature.
- Organisms should be classified to reflect evolutionary relationships, with each taxon representing organisms that share a common ancestor, very similar to the “Tree of Life” analogy.
