Question

Taxonomic groups or categories are distinct biological entities and not merely morphological aggregates. What does this mean?

Answer 1

Taxonomic groups: It represents a certain level or rank in a classification where organisms are grouped based on their characteristic similarities.

1. When we say 'Taxonomic groups or categories are distinct biological entities and not merely morphological aggregates." we can understand this using an easy example.
2. Let the example be Insecta, which is a category, Insecta has distinct morphological features like jointed legs, a segmented body, etc.
3. Insecta is not just these morphological characters but also the organisms that belong to that group.
4. It includes living organisms like mosquitoes, beetles, dragonflies, etc.
5. So a category includes a distinct biological entity (organisms) and not just a collection of morphological features.