Classification of Agricultural Animals

Organisms

• Identified, grouped, and classified• More effectively study and

communicate about them• Plants and animals are classified or

grouped together by characteristics they have in common

They may be characterized by

• The uses people make of them• Physical characteristics• Other categories used to put similar

animals together

Classification

• Several ways of classifying agricultural animals

• Agricultural animals have been domesticated for some type of human use

• These animals have been developed into breeds having distinctive characteristics and distinctive uses

Scientific Classification–Binomial nomenclature:

Giving two names in Latin–System developed by Swedish

Botonist named Linnaeus

Binomial Nomenclature• Genus: First name, always

capitalized• Species: Second name, always

lowercase• Both are underlined!

Latin• Was used because at the time, it was

the international language of scholars• Many languages of the world were

based on Latin.

Example• Cattle: Bos taurus• Pigs: Sus scrofa• Horses: Equus caballus• Sheep: Ovis aries• Dogs: Canis familiaris

Common Names

• Are often confusing• Different organisms can have similar or

the same common name• Different parts of the country may have

different common names for the same animal.

Scientific Classification

• Orderly and systematic approach to identification

• Broad groups of animals are classified together in categories of common characteristics

Scientific Classification

• Each group is then broken down further into smaller categories

• Process is repeated until the groups cannot be categorized into smaller groups.

Seven Levels of Classification

• Kingdom- largest • Phyla• Class• Order• Family

Seven Levels of Classification• Genus• Species- smallest

Kingdoms• Animalia: all multicelled animals• Plantae: multicellular plants that

produce chlorophyll through photosynthesis

Kingdoms• Monera: bacteria and blue-green

algae• Protista: paramecia and amoebae• Fungi: mushrooms and other fungi

Kingdom• The Kingdom animalia includes

all animals ranging from a tiny gnat to huge whales. Because of this diversity we have to further subdivide into phyla.

Phyla• The primary divisions of the

kingdom Animalia• The kingdom animalia is divided

into twenty-seven phyla.

Phyla• The word phyla comes from the Greek

word phulon meaning race or kind• Several phyla are divided into

subphyla• Most agricultural animals belong to

the phylum Chordata

Phyla

• Chordata is divided into subphylas• Vertebrata – animals with backbones

Classes• The phyla and subphyla are further

divided into classes.• Agricultural animals such as

horses, cattle, goats, sheep, and pigs belong to the class Mammalia.

Classes• Amphibia: frogs, toads• Reptilia: turtles, snakes, lizards• Aves: birds• Mammalia: horses, cattle, pigs

Orders• Classes are divided into smaller

groups that categorize animals within a class that possess certain characteristics called orders.

Order• The class Mammalia contains

eighteen different orders including • Primates – humans• Artiodactyla – cows, goats, sheep,

pigs

Artiodactyla• The order Artiodactyla have

three suborders.• Suiformes: pigs, hippopotami

Artiodactyla• Tylopoda: camels, llamas• Ruminantia: deer, cattle, sheep

Families• Orders and suborders still have

to be broken down smaller. These are called families.

Genus and Species• The final categories of the

scientific classification system are genus and species.

Genus and Species• The Genus and Species are

also an animal’s scientific name.• These are always Latin or

latinized

Classification of Breeds• A breed of animals is defined as

a group of animals with a common ancestry and common characteristics that breed true.

Classification of Breeds• Breeding true: means that the

offspring will almost always look like the parents

Selective Breeding• Choosing the best and desired

animals and using those animals for breeding purposes.

Purebreds• These are animals whose

ancestors are of only one breed.

Breed Associations• An organization that promotes a

certain breed of animal. They control the registration process of purebred animals of that breed.

Blood Typing• Not only physical characteristics

are used in breed identification.• Blood typing is analyzing and

animals blood to determine their history.

Crossbreeding• Sometimes species can be

successfully crossed to produce new breeds.

Example• One of the first successful

breeds: Santa Gertrudis, which a cross between Shorthorn breed of cattle with the Brahman breed of cattle.

Classification According to Use

• Meat Animals• Work Animals

Classification of Horses

• Cutting horses: used to heard and work cattle

• Draft Breeds: used to pull wagons and heavy loads

Classification of Horses• Harness Horses: used for pulling

sulkies or light carriages

Dual-Purpose Animals• An animal that is raised for more

than one purpose.

Examples• Cows and Calves• Sheep• Camels (in the desert of the

Middle East)