This hub is all about the classification of living things (Taxonomy). The list to the right shows the current system of classification with species at the base and domain at the top. The first question we must answer is "What is the point?". We classify:

for convenience

to make the study of living things more manageable

for ease of identification

to analyse inter-species relationships (Phylogenetics)

More than 250 years ago, a Naturalist named Carl Linnaeus classified more than 70,000 organisms according to methodical observation of their physical features. Each organism was placed into a series of ranked categories named taxa (singular: taxon).

The modern classification system is an expanded version of that used by Linnaeus - as you rise through the taxa, the individuals grouped together show less and less similarity. Individuals of a Species (at the bottom) are all essentially the same; individuals of a kingdom (near the top) show huge variation and are much less related.