Classification of Humans
Taxonomic Levels Required for ZO 150
NOTE: The terms "group" and "subgroup" below are
not considered major or official levels of classification, just useful
ways to organize the animal kingdom phylogenetically. They are
not used for classification unless phylogenetic groups
are specifically called for.
The major levels of classification are:
Domain,
Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species. Note the
format of each name carefully. Named, intermediate categories
(subkingdom, subphylum, etc.)
may also be tested.
-
kingdom Animalia
- subkingdom Eumetazoa
- symmetry group Bilateria
- embryonic subgroup Deuterostomia
- phylum Chordata
-
subphylum Craniata
- skeletal group
Vertebrata
- mouth development group
Gnathostoma
- embryonic membrane group
Amniota
- class Mammalia
- fetal development group
placental (Eutheria)
- order Primates
- family Hominidae
- genus Homo
- species Homo
sapiens sapiens Linnaeus
-
"sapiens" is the
specific epithet,
NOT
the species name. The name of a species must include both
the genus name and the specific epithet.
- Our subspecific epithet
is also sapiens.
The fossil "Cro-Magnon people" were in our subspecies, as are all
living humans. Another subspecies
is the extinct H. sapiens neanderthalensis -
"Neanderthal people." [A small but significant minority
of anthropologists and zoologists maintain that Neanderthal people were
a separate species, H.
neanderthalensis, rather than a subspecies of our species.]
-
"Linnaeus" is the last name
of the
person who originally described and gave an official name to the
species.
In taxonomical and systematical publications, species names include the
last name(s) of the describing author(s) in a tabular list, or in the
text
at the first place the species is mentioned.
-
When species names are
hand-written,
they should be underlined to represent the italics, like this: Homo
sapiens.
-
Genus names, specific
epithets and
subspecific epithets are italicized, but the author name is not.
Other species of Hominidae:
-
The only living species
generally considered
to belong to the family Hominidae is
H. sapiens.
- The Hominidae also include
several
species of Australopithecus (all extinct) and several fossil
species
and subspecies of our genus Homo, including H. habilis Leakey
and Leakey
and H. erectus (Dubois).
- Some zoologists have
proposed that
species of Pan (chimpanzees and bonobos) and Gorilla also
be put into the family Hominidae, but retain their separate genus
names. A few scientists even maintain that chimpanzees and bonobos
ought to be members of the genus Homo,
since they are so close to us genetically.
Maintained by Sam
Mozley
(click to send me E-mail)
Last modified on May 25, 2004