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Taxonomy

Taxonomy

Taxonomy is the science of defining and naming groups of biological organisms based on shared characteristics. It uses a hierarchy of increasingly inclusive categories with Latin names. The smallest units of taxonomy, species and genus, are used to assign a formal, taxonomic name to each species in a system. This classification system, referred to as binomial nomenclature, was formalized by Carolus Linnaeus in the 18th century.
Hierarchy of Taxonomy
The hierarchy that Carolus Linnaeus first...

Phylogeny

Phylogeny

Phylogeny is concerned with the evolutionary diversification of organisms or groups of organisms. A group of organisms with a name is called a taxon (singular). Taxa (plural) can span different levels of the evolutionary hierarchy. For instance, the group containing all birds is a taxon (comprising the class Aves), and the group of all species of daisies (the genus Bellis) is a taxon. Phylogenies can likewise include just one genus (i.e., depict species relationships) or span an entire kingdom.

Conservation of Small Populations

Conservation of Small Populations

Small population sizes put a species at extreme risk of extinction due to a lack of variation, and a consequent decrease in adaptability. This weakens the chances of survival under pressures such as climate change, competition from other species, or new diseases. Large populations are more likely to survive pressures such as these, as such populations are more likely to harbor individuals that have genetic variants that are adaptive under new stresses. Small populations are much less...

Phylogenetic Trees

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Phylogenetic trees come in many forms. It matters in which sequence the organisms are arranged from the bottom to the top of the tree, but the branches can rotate at their nodes without altering the information. The lines connecting individual nodes can be straight, angled, or even curved.

Phylogenetic Trees

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Evolutionary Relationships through Genome Comparisons

Evolutionary Relationships through Genome Comparisons

Genome comparison is one of the excellent ways to interpret the evolutionary relationships between organisms. The basic principle of genome comparison is that if two species share a common feature, it is likely encoded by the DNA sequence conserved between both species. The advent of genome sequencing technologies in the late 20th century enabled scientists to understand the concept of conservation of domains between species and helped them to deduce evolutionary relationships across diverse...

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Related Experiment Video

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Ocular Kinematics Measured by In Vitro Stimulation of the Cranial Nerves in the Turtle

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Evaluating recent taxonomic changes for alligator snapping turtles (Testudines: Chelydridae).

Brian Folt¹, Craig Guyer¹

¹Department of Biological Sciences and Auburn University Museum of Natural History, Auburn University, Alabama 36849 USA.;

|May 8, 2015

Summary

The Alligator Snapping Turtle is now recognized as three distinct species. This reclassification is crucial for the effective conservation of these long-lived reptiles facing human exploitation.

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Area of Science:

Herpetology and Evolutionary Biology
Taxonomy and Systematics
Conservation Genetics

Background:

Historically, the Alligator Snapping Turtle (Macrochelys temminckii) was considered a single, widespread species.
Recent research by Thomas et al. (2014) utilized morphological and mitochondrial DNA data to challenge this classification.
This led to the description of two new species: the Apalachicola Alligator Snapping Turtle (Macrochelys apalachicolae) and the Suwannee Alligator Snapping Turtle (Macrochelys suwanniensis).

Discussion:

The specific epithet 'temminckii' is now reserved for populations west of the Yellow River in Alabama and Florida, extending to the San Antonio River in Texas.
The study highlights the importance of detailed taxonomic research, especially for species with broad geographic ranges.
Understanding species boundaries is essential given the historical exploitation of Macrochelys populations.

Key Insights:

Morphological and genetic analyses reveal three distinct species within the Alligator Snapping Turtle complex.
The Apalachicola and Suwannee Alligator Snapping Turtles are newly described species.
The traditional 'Macrochelys temminckii' now refers to a more restricted western range.

Outlook:

Accurate species delimitation is critical for the conservation of Alligator Snapping Turtles, which are vulnerable due to their life-history traits and historical harvesting.
Recognizing distinct species with potentially smaller ranges necessitates tailored conservation strategies.
Further research into the distribution, population status, and specific threats for each of the three Macrochelys species is warranted.