Why are Living Organisms Classified?

Living organisms are classified mainly to avoid confusion, to make study of organisms easy and learn how various organisms are related to each other.

Scientists classified living organisms into different kingdoms, phylum, class, etc and are based on different criteria.

Let’s explore more about why living organisms are classified?

Our mother planet is a home for millions to billions of living species from small microbes to huge animals and humans. In our surroundings, we can see different types of plants, insects, birds and animals. Based on certain specialized features, these living species have been classified into their respective categories.

There are several different species of animals, birds, insects and plants, which vary in their mode of nutrition, their habitat, life cycle. Their names also differ from place to place, even within a country. To avoid this kind of confusion, scientists have classified and named them according to their characters.

Also Refer: Different modes of nutrition

What is Classification?

On the basis of their similarities and differences, living organisms are arranged into different groups and sub groups, which is termed classification of living organisms. This scientific process of classification is termed Biological classification.

Science that deals with the classification and nomenclature of all living organisms are termed as Taxonomy. Here, the classification is mainly based on general, physical, genetic and biochemical variations.

Explore more: Taxonomy

The level of hierarchy in the system of classifying organisms is:

Kingdom

Phylum

Class

Order

Family

Genus

Species

These biological classifications have a number of advantages. Following are the advantages of classifying organisms:

With the process of biological classification, today we are able to:

1. Understand the evolution of organisms.
2. Classify organisms based on their features.
3. Study different kinds of organisms both present and extinct.
4. Describes the inter-relationship among the various organisms.
5. Discover how animals, plants and other living species are related and are useful for human welfare.

Explore more: Basis of Biological Classification

This article concludes the introduction to classification of living organisms.Learn more in detail about the classification of living organisms, why are living organisms classified, along with their significance and any other related topics at BYJU’S Biology.