Glossary of Terms for
Classification of
Living Things

Binomial Nomenclature - two-word system of identifying an organism

Class - group of closely related orders

Family - group of closely related geni

Fossil - a preservation of the remains or traces of an organism from the past

Genus - group of closely related species

Kingdom - group of closely related phyla

Nomenclature - system for naming things

Order - group of closely related families

Phylogeny - the evolutionary history of a species or group of organisms

Phylum - group of closely related classes

Species - a group of organisms that are structurally similar and that pass these similarities on to their offspring

Taxonomy - part of biology that deals with classification and naming of living things

Theory of Evolution - theory of gradual change in species over time