New
New
Year 6

Discovering and naming new species

I can describe how scientists group, identify and name new species of living things.

New
New
Year 6

Discovering and naming new species

I can describe how scientists group, identify and name new species of living things.

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Taxonomists describe thousands and thousands of new living species every year.
  2. New species must be described in detail, including which features make it similar and different to close relatives.
  3. Species are always identified by both a generic name and a species name.
  4. Species names are written in Latin, but many species names are based on words from other languages, and are Latinized.

Common misconception

Pupils may think that organisms have, and always have had, their own names, rather than them being named by scientists and others.

Use the lesson resources to explain the naming process for living things used by taxonomists and other scientists.

Keywords

  • Taxonomist - A taxonomist is a type of scientist who identifies, classifies and describes living things.

  • Classify - To classify things is to sort them into groups.

  • Identify - To identify something is to be able to name it correctly.

  • Species - Distinct types of living things are called species.

  • Latin - Latin is a language that comes from the ancient Roman empire and is still commonly used by scientists and other academics.

There are many species that have been named after famous celebrities or characters from films and TV, many of which can be found with a quick online search. Find some of these that will be familiar with pupils to make the lesson more interesting and relevant to them.
Teacher tip

Equipment

Access to an online translator (Latin) may be interesting to use.

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

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6 Questions

Q1.
Scientists classify living things to help understand and learn more about them. What is classifying?
naming things
Correct answer: sorting things into groups
researching things
counting things
Q2.
What does it mean to identify something?
to compare it to other similar things
to find out where something can be found
to sort it into a group with other similar things
Correct answer: to find out what something is and its name
Q3.
What does a taxonomist do?
Correct answer: names, describes and groups living things
prevents living things from becoming endangered
looks after the well being of living things
Q4.
Which of these is not an organism?
mushroom
human
Correct answer: fire
bacteria
apple tree
Q5.
What is a species?
Correct answer: a distinct type of living thing
a unique type of animal
a group of living things
a habitat for living things
Q6.
Which of these features of living things can not be used to help identify them?
the shape of their bodies
their body covering
Correct answer: the place they were born
what they eat
how they reproduce

6 Questions

Q1.
Approximately how many new species do taxonomists describe every year?
An image in a quiz
none; they have already all been discovered.
around 10-20
around 500
Correct answer: many thousands
Q2.
Why is it important for taxonomists to describe newly discovered organisms in lots of detail, including which features make it similar and different to close relatives?
so they can reunite animals with their families
Correct answer: so others can identify organisms of the same species accurately
so they can write lots of books about them
Q3.
Which language is often used for the species names of living things?
English
Swedish
Italian
Correct answer: Latin
Q4.
To avoid confusion and help taxonomists to make sure they are referring to the same organism, Carl Linnaeus created the naming system.
An image in a quiz
Correct Answer: binomial, Binomial
Q5.
Which of these names is the correct binomial name for this organism?
An image in a quiz
Crustacean oniscus asellus
Correct answer: Oniscus asellus
Asellus
Common shiny woodlouse
Q6.
Which two parts are used to create a name in the binomial system?
Correct answer: genus and species
family and species
family and genus
genus and family