 
THE STUDY OF LIVING THINGS
SIMPLE ORGANISMS
| KINGDOM |
| PHYLLUM |
| CLASS |
| ORDER |
| FAMILY |
| GENUS |
| SPECIES |
Living organisms are divided into groups with similar characteristics,
using the Linnean system of organisation, created in the 18th century
by the Swedish botanist, Karl von Linne.
Living organisms are traditionally divided into the animal and
plant kingdoms. Some biologists place the fungi, algae
and many simple animals in a third kingdom called protista. Recently
some biologists have placed the blue-green algae into a separate
kingdom.
Each animal and plant belongs to a species and has a species name,
which consists of two words in Latin. A species is a group of organisms
that are similar to each other and can breed together. Each
species belongs to a series of larger groups. A phylum is
a main group and a class is a sub-group.
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