Taxonomy

The biological systematics of the Zebra Finch (Taeniopygia guttata castanotis)

In classifying books and other works about our fauna and flora nature-lovers repeatedly have to face scientific names of species: Sometimes two, some other time three unknown scientific terms are used for an animal or plant species, and occasionally the author contents himself with a single name, meaning the "genus". The Latin and Greek names are based on a a science called "Taxonomy", the biological systematics internationally common in zoology and botany. The Zebra Finch is to serve as an example to explain it.

Technical Terms
Taxonomy:	Biological systematics, science of the hierarchic classification of plants and animals in their presumed natural relationships according to their evolution.
Taxonomist:	Scientist who classifies ("taxes") creatures
Category:	Level in the hierarchy of the biological system, i.e. the species, genus, family e.g.
Taxon:	Example or entity in a category, e. g. a certain (!) genus etc., the class Aves or the family Estrildidae e.g. (plural: taxa)

Biological Systematics

The systematic, taxonomical classification of the "animal kingdom" (Regnum) into the various catergories starts with the "phyla":
The ancient "phylum" (Phylum) of the "chordates" (Chordata) or the "subphylum" of the "vertebrates" (Vertebrata) respectively produced the "classes" of the various fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals. All feathered creatures are united in a class (Classis), because all recent and extinct bird species are derived from a common prototype, which itself goes back to small bipedal dinosaurs. The primeval bird from Solnhofen (Archaeopteryx) gives us a rough idea of what the ancestors of the birds (Aves) may have looked like. Further primeval forms – presumably even missing links between the birds and their ancestors – were discovered in China at the end des 20^th century.

Taxon English	Taxon scientif.	Zebra Finch English	Zebra Finch scientific	Examples of other other animals
Realm	Regnum	Animals	Animalia	—
Subkingdom	Sub-Regnum	—	—	—
Phylum	Phylum	Chordate	Chordata	Sponges, cnidarians, arthropds, molluscs, echinoderms
Subphylum	Sub-Phylum	Vertebrates	Vertebrata	Tunicates, Acrania
Class	Classis	Birds	Aves	Jellyfish, arachnids, crustaceans, millipedes, insects, bony fishes, reptiles, mammals
Subclass	Sub-Classis	Recent or "Modern" Birds	Neornithes	Largely-winged insects, marsupials, placental mammals
Order	Ordo	Passerines *	Passeriformes	Scorpions, dipterans, hymenopterons, minnows, parrots, ducks & geese, insectivorous and fruit bats, primates
Suborder	Sub-Ordo	Song birds	Passeres or Oscines	Thread-horns (Gnats), crocodiles, lizards, bee-eaters, flying foxes, bats, monkeys, rats and mice
Family	Familia	Estrildids	Estrildidae	Yellow Jackets, bees, whitefish, lizards, cockatoos, flycatchers & thrushes, titmice, bullfinches & goldfinches etc., buntings, horseshoe-bats, mice
Subfamily	Sub-Familia	—	—	Hornets, pythons, pigmy falcons, Blunt-tailed Parrots, Lories
Genus	Genus	Zebra Finches	Taeniopygia	Poecile titmice, grass finches, budgies, grass parrots (Neophema), rosellas
Species	Species	Zebra Finch	T. guttata	Oxeye tit, Long-tailed grassfinch, Masked grassfinch, budgy
Subspecies	Sub-Spezies	Timor Zebra Finch	T. guttata guttata	Australian Zebra Finch: Taeniopygia guttata castanotis

* A lot of taxonomists call the order Passeriformes "songbirds"!

Literature:
Bezzel, Einhard (1977): Ornithologie. Ulmer, Stuttgart.
Wolters, H. E. (1983): Die Vögel Europas im System der Vögel. Biotropic-Verlag, Baden-Baden.

Biology