Species concept and

Taxonomy

Dr. BABU N
 Classification and Phylogeny of Animals
•Phylogenetic tree or evolutionary tree is a branching
diagram or tree showing the evolutionary relationships
among various biological species or other entities
(Physical or genetic characteristics)
•Taxonomy: the branch of biology that deals
with the systematic classification and naming
of species (or groups of species) (long pre-
Darwinian history).
•Systematics: the branch of biology that seeks
to understand the evolutionary relationships
between groups of organisms (post-Darwinian).
 Macroevolution and
•
speciation
Evolutionary theory must explain macroevolution,
the origin of new taxonomic groups
• Speciation, or the origin of new species, is central
to macroevolution since all higher taxa originate
with a new species which is novel enough to be
the first member
• Fossil record provides evidence for two patterns
of speciation:
– Anagenesis (phyletic evolution) –
transformation of an unbranched lineage of
organisms to a different state (the new species)
– Cladogenesis (branching evolution) – budding
of one or more species from a parent species
that continues to exist
 A
A

B C D E F

B
Anagenesis Cladogenesis
Prokaryotes Eukaryotes
Protozoa Metazoa
Autotrophic Heterotrophic

Absorptive Ingest/digest
Monera Protista Plantae Fungi Animalia
 What is an Animal ?

1. Animals are multicellular,

heterotrophic, eukaryotes that ingest
and digest their food.
2. Animals lack a cell wall.
3. Are capable of moving (during some
point in their lives).
4. All animals have regulatory genes
called Hox genes.
 Taxonomy

Linnaean Classification

Kingdom
Phylum
Class
Order
Family
Genus
species
 Taxonomy
Linnaean Classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Class: Mammalia
Subclass: Eutheria
Order: Primates
Suborder: Anthropoidea
Family: Pongidae
Subfamily: ~
Genus: Gorilla
species: gorilla
 What is a Species?
Species Concepts:
1.Typological species concept:
 Species is primary unit of classification,
should have clear picture of what constitutes
a species.
species
2.species are distinct,
• unchanging entities defined by unique,
morphological features.
features
• This concept has been abandoned by
biologists.
Morphological Concepts:
This is the most common and general method applied for
identifying a species.
species
Applicable in both in the living as well as fossil forms.
Species based on similar morphology constitute referred to
as phenetic species.
species
Identifying the qualitative characters becomes difficult and
subjective.
Characters that have an evolutionary significance in fossil
can be considered.
Order of succession in rocks and geographical distribution
helps in determining the significant morphological characters
of a species.
species
What is a species?
There is tremendous
morphological
variation within
Homo sapiens.
But all humans can
potentially interbreed.
In contrast, some
species are very
similar
morphologically but
can not interbreed…
 Some Problems with the Typological Species
Concept
Sexual Dimorphism: the sexes differ
morphologically

male female

Sailfin molly
 Some Problems with the Typological Species
Concept
Alternative morphs:
Hornless Horned
morph morph

e.g. horn polymorphisms in

beetles
Some Problems with the Typological Species
Concept

Drosophila
subobscura
Latitude
Some Problems with the Typological Species
Concept
Cryptic species: some species are similar
morphologically but differ in other important ways

Western Eastern
meadowlark meadowlark
Western meadowlark Eastern meadowlark
2. Biological species concept:

 a species is a population or group of

populations that can potentially
 interbreed and
 produce viable,
 fertile, offspring,
 but that is reproductively isolated from
other populations.
 The biological species concept
emphasizes reproductive isolation
• In 1942, Ernst Mayr proposed the biological
species concept
• A biological species is defined as a population
or group of populations whose members have
the potential to interbreed and produce viable,
fertile offspring but cannot do so with
members of other species
– The species is the largest unit of population
in which gene flow is possible
– It is defined by reproductive isolation from
other species in natural environments
(hybrids may be possible in the lab or in zoos)
 There can be no interbreeding across the species.
 Biologists do not use the interbreeding test for
modern organisms.
 Among living animals the interbreeding mechanism
of hardly 1/6th of the total species is known.
 Rest no information is available that, they are
capable of interbreeding or not.
 Interbreeding concept is totally irrelevant in fossil
forms.
 No application in a large number of lower
organisms who reproduce through asexual means.
means
interbreeding across Species
Mechanisms of reproductive isolation:

1. Prezygotic barriers: prevent mating or

fertilization

2. Postzygotic barriers: prevent hybrid

from developing into a viable, fertile adult
Some problems with the biological species
concept:
•Bdelloid Rotifers haven’t
reproduced sexually for > 80
million years- each individual is
reproductively isolated !
•An estimated 2000 species are
completely asexual.
Numerical taxonomy:
To identifying a species this new method has been
used now-a-days.
Morphometry or numerical measurements and their
ratios are considered as significant morphological
factors for delineating a species.
Morphometric is subjective where as numerical is
quantitative factors.
Both quantitative and qualitative characters can be
applied in most fossil form.
Growth parameters are significant from an
evolutionary point of view.
Cladistics:
New approach to speciation through a process.
Cladistics involves the application of shared derived
characters through phylogeny (evolutionary lineage) to
identify related taxa.
Proposed in 60’s of last century by German biologist Willi
Henig, but applied to fossil studies in 80’s.
The process of cladistics involves the building of
cladogram.
Consists of genealogical tree depicting each branch or
clade based on shared derived character.
This manner those related organisms who have acquired
a common character during the course of evolution are
grouped together.
Classification and Phylogeny of Animals

•Taxonomy: the branch of biology that deals with

the systematic classification and naming of species
(or groups of species) (long pre-Darwinian history).

•Systematics: the branch of biology that seeks to

understand the evolutionary relationships between
groups of organisms (post-Darwinian).

-One of the major goals of systematics is the

construction of phylogenies
Systematics

A B C D

Most recent common Most recent common

ancestor of A and B ancestor of C and D
Most recent common
ancestor of A, B, C
and D
Systematics

What kind of information is used

to construct phylogenies?

•Characters: organismal features

that vary among species
(morphological or molecular
characteristics)
 jellyfish, other
sponges corals, etc. animals

organ
level
tissue
level

cellular
level
Morphological characters used to construct
phylogenies

•Type of symmetry: the arrangement of body

structures relative to some axis of the body

1. Asymmetrical:

2. Radial symmetry:

3. Bilateral symmetry:
Asymmetrical
No plane can
divide the body
into two
symmetrical
halves
Bilateral

Radial

> 1 plane can 1 plane divides the

divide the body body into two
into two symmetrical
symmetrical halves
halves
 jellyfish, other
corals, etc. animals
sponges

bilateral
symmetry

radial
symmetry

asymmetrical
Characters used to construct phylogenies

•The presence of different body structures

•Developmental patterns

•Molecular data: DNA / RNA sequence data

END
Mechanisms of reproductive isolation:

1. Prezygotic barriers: prevent mating or

fertilization

– Behavioral
Western meadowlark Eastern meadowlark
Mechanisms of reproductive isolation:

1. Prezygotic barriers: prevent mating or

fertilization
– Behavioral

– Temporal
Western spotted skunk: Eastern spotted skunk:
summer breeder winter breeder
Mechanisms of reproductive isolation:

1. Prezygotic barriers: prevent mating

or fertilization

– Behavioral

– Temporal

– Habitat isolation
Aquatic garter snake Terrestrial garter snake
Species Concepts:
1. Typological species concept
2. Biological species concept
3. Evolutionary species concept
• Incorporates time
These have all
4. Ecological species concept been proposed
to solve some
• Incoporates niche of the problems
of the other
5. Phylogenetic species concept concepts

• Incorporates unique, evolved traits

•To date > 1.5 million species of animals
have been described by biologists

• ~ 10, 000 new species are described each

year

•Estimates of the total number of animal

species are around 10 million.

•How do biologists organize all of this

diversity?
Classification and Phylogeny of Animals

•Taxonomy: the branch of biology that deals

with the systematic classification and
naming of species (or groups of species)
(long pre-Darwinian history).
 Taxonomy

Carolus Linnaeus (1707- 1778)

•Swedish botanist
•Systema Naturae: a classification
scheme that used morphology to
group organisms into hierarchical
categories
 Taxonomy

Linnaean Classification

Kingdom
Phylum •In this scheme the major
categories are called taxa
Class
•Higher taxa are increasingly
Order inclusive

Family •Each species is given a unique

binomial name: Binomial
Genus nomenclature

species
 Taxonomy

Linnaean Classification: an example

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Piciformes
Family: Picidae
Genus: Melanerpes
species: carolinus
 Taxonomy

Linnaean Classification: another example

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Piciformes
Family: Picidae
Genus: Melanerpes
species: erythrocephalus
 Taxonomy

Linnaean Classification: another example

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Piciformes
Family: Ramphastidae
Genus: Ramphastos
Keeled toucan
species: sulfuratus
 Taxonomy
Linnaean Classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Class: Mammalia
Subclass: Eutheria
Order: Primates
Suborder: Anthropoidea
Family: Pongidae
Subfamily: ~
Genus: Gorilla
species: gorilla
•Analogous characters: characters that
are similar to one another in function,
but not ancestry.

•Analogous characters are not useful

in determining the evolutionary
relationships between organisms.
Examples of analogous characters: bat wings and
insect wings

Bat wing Fly wing

Classification and Phylogeny of Animals

•Taxonomy: the branch of biology that deals with

the systematic classification and naming of species
(or groups of species) (long pre-Darwinian history).

•Systematics: the branch of biology that seeks to

understand the evolutionary relationships between
groups of organisms (post-Darwinian).