Marine Organism Classification

With more than 250,000 marine species in existence, scientists have created a way to categorize species to study and learn more about them. Most organisms are grouped according to their similarities, and once grouped, they are assigned a scientific name including a Genus name and a species name. Some of the characteristics used for grouping marine organisms are habitat and mobility.

Essential Questions

• Why is it difficult to estimate the total number of marine species in existence?
• What is phylogenetic classification?
• What are the seven categories in the scientific naming system?
• What are the five Kingdoms into which all organisms can be placed for classification?
• What are two main characteristics used to determine similarity among organisms (for classification)?