Branch of science that deals with the identification, classification, and naming of extant (currently living) and extinct (no longer living, fossils) organisms based on shared characteristics. All known organisms are placed in categories that become narrower as more specific characteristics are used to describe them (domain > kingdom > phylum > class > order > family > genus > species). The current way of naming species was developed by Carl Linnaeus and it is called binominal (binary) nomenclature. According to it, each species name consists of two parts: the first is the name of the genus to which the species belongs and the second name distinguishes the species within the genus.












































































