Order Passeriformes (Perching Birds) Finch-like songbirds: finches, sparrows, pipits, New World warblers & tanagers The final subsection of the passerines covers a large and widespread group of songbirds found across Africa, Eurasia, Australasia, and the Americas. It starts with several mainly tropical nectar-feeding lineages — sugarbirds, flowerpeckers, sunbirds, leafbirds, and fairy-bluebirds — then moves into … Continue reading "Section 9F – Passeroidea: Finches, Sparrows, Tanagers and Allies"
Read MoreCategory: Taxonomy
Section 1 — Ratites, Tinamous & Gamebirds
Early‑branching ground birds with ancient lineages, many of which are poor fliers or completely flightless. This section includes the Palaeognaths — one of the oldest branches of modern birds — such as ostriches, rheas, emus, cassowaries, kiwis, and tinamous. Although tinamous can fly, they share the same deep ancestry as the large flightless ratites. It … Continue reading "Section 1 — Ratites, Tinamous & Gamebirds"
Read MorePhylum Mycetozoa (Slime Moulds)
Introduction Slime moulds belong to the phylum Mycetozoa, placed here within the Kingdom Protozoa. They are eukaryotic organisms with life cycles that combine features of both amoebae and fungi, which is why they have been moved between taxonomic groups many times. Modern classifications usually place them within the Amoebozoa, but their Linnaean rank varies depending … Continue reading "Phylum Mycetozoa (Slime Moulds)"
Read MoreProtozoa and Chromista
Protozoa and Chromista are two eukaryotic kingdoms that contain a wide variety of mostly microscopic or structurally simple organisms. Their classification has shifted repeatedly over the past century, and different taxonomic systems still draw the boundaries in different ways. For the purposes of this project, I follow a traditional Linnaean framework, using the same broad … Continue reading "Protozoa and Chromista"
Read MoreClassification of life
This project began as a way to label and organise my wildlife photographs and identify the species in them. What started as simple naming quickly became more complex, as I realised that grouping organisms is often just as challenging as identifying them. Biological classification is not fixed. Advances in molecular genetics continue to reshape our … Continue reading "Classification of life"
Read MoreOrder Hymenoptera
Kingdom: Animalia > Phylum: Arthropoda > Class: Insecta > Order: Hymenoptera Ants, Bees, Wasps, Sawflies & Horntails This is a large order of insects that have existed since the Triassic period. the name derives from the ancient Greek word hymen, meaning membrane, and pteron, wing. They are often thought of as the stinging insects and … Continue reading "Order Hymenoptera"
Read MoreOrder Hemiptera
Kingdom: Animalia > Phylum: Arthropoda > Class: Insecta > Order: Hemiptera True bugs, hoppers, aphids & allies This is a large group of insects with more than 75,000 species, nearly 2,000 of which can be found in the UK. They include shieldbugs, plant bugs, bed bugs, pondskaters, cicadas, water bugs, aphids, and scale insects. They … Continue reading "Order Hemiptera"
Read MoreOrder Coleoptera
Kingdom: Animalia > Phylum: Arthropoda > Class: Insecta > Order: Coleoptera Beetles are a group of insects that form the order Coleoptera. They are the largest group of insects with over 300,000 species, a quarter of all known living species. They live in most climates and can survive extreme dry or wet. They can vary … Continue reading "Order Coleoptera"
Read MoreOrder Rodentia — Rodents
Kingdom: Animalia > Phylum: Chordata > Class: Mammalia > Order: Rodentia Rodents are the largest order of mammals, accounting for roughly 40% of all living mammal species. They occur on every continent except Antarctica and occupy a wide range of habitats, from forests and grasslands to deserts and wetlands. They are characterised by a single … Continue reading "Order Rodentia — Rodents"
Read MoreSuborder Anisoptera (dragonflies)
Kingdom: Animalia > Phylum: Arthropoda > Class: Insecta > Order: Odonata > Suborder Anisoptera These are the dragonflies and Anisoptera means unequal-winged from the fact that the hind wings are usually shorter and wider than the forewings. The eyes are large and usually touch at the top of the head. In the UK there are … Continue reading "Suborder Anisoptera (dragonflies)"
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