Taxonomy

**Taxonomy** (from Ancient Greek τάξις*(taxis)*, meaning 'arrangement', and -νομία*(-nomia)*, meaning 'method') is the science of defining and naming groups of biological organisms on the basis of shared characteristics. Organisms are grouped together into taxa (singular: taxon) and these groups are given a taxonomic rank; groups of a given rank can be aggregated to form a super-group of higher rank, thus creating a taxonomic hierarchy. The principal ranks in modern use are domain, kingdom, phylum (division is sometimes used in botany in place of phylum), class, order, family, genus and species. The Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus is regarded as the father of taxonomy, as he developed a system known as Linnaean taxonomy for categorization of organisms and binomial nomenclature for naming organisms.

With the advent of such fields of study as phylogenetics, cladistics, and systematics, the Linnaean system has progressed to a system of modern biological classification based on the evolutionary relationships between organisms, both living and extinct.

Taxonomy is used by Coulrologists to describe the relationships between Humoran species.

## Definition

The exact definition of taxonomy varies from source to source, but the core of the discipline remains: the conception, naming, and classification of groups of organisms. As points of reference, recent definitions of taxonomy are presented below:

1. Theory and practice of grouping individuals into species, arranging species into larger groups, and giving those groups names, thus producing a classification
2. A field of science (and major component of systematics) that encompasses description, identification, nomenclature, and classification
3. The science of classification, in biology the arrangement of organisms into a classification
4. "The science of classification as applied to living organisms, including study of means of formation of species, etc."
5. "The analysis of an organism's characteristics for the purpose of classification"
6. "Systematics studies phylogeny to provide a pattern that can be translated into the classification and names of the more inclusive field of taxonomy" (listed as a desirable but unusual definition)

The varied definitions either place taxonomy as a sub-area of systematics (definition 2), invert that relationship (definition 6), or appear to consider the two terms synonymous. There is some disagreement as to whether biological nomenclature is considered a part of taxonomy (definitions 1 and 2), or a part of systematics outside taxonomy. For example, definition 6 is paired with the following definition of systematics that places nomenclature outside taxonomy:

* *Systematics*: "The study of the identification, taxonomy, and nomenclature of organisms, including the classification of living things with regard to their natural relationships and the study of variation and the evolution of taxa".

A whole set of terms including taxonomy, systematic biology, systematics, biosystematics, scientific classification, biological classification, and phylogenetics have at times had overlapping meanings – sometimes the same, sometimes slightly different, but always related and intersecting. The broadest meaning of "taxonomy" is used here. The term itself was introduced in 1813 by de Candolle, in his *Théorie élémentaire de la botanique*.

## In Coulrology

Taxonomy is an important aspect of coulrological studies, as it is used to describe how various species are related to one another. Taxonomically, coulrology focuses on the study of members of the class *Humora*, a clade of very funny little vertebrates.

Humorans are divided phenotypically into the categories of "true coulronians" and "false coulronians". True coulronians are the primary focus of most coulrologists, composing a genetically linked clade descending from a common ancestor. On the other hand, false coulronians (of which all known species are extinct) are defined not by shared ancestry (their last common ancestor being the common ancestor of all *humorans*) but by their dissimilarity to the true coulronians, such as their lack of a sense of humor, and shockingly minuscule feet. The most notable of the false coulronians, the suborder *Therocephalia*, existed in the late Permian/early Triassic eras.

The true coulronians are split once again into the orders of "true clouradates" and "pseudoclouradates". True clouradates and pseudoclouradates are remarkably similar, some taxonomies even going so far as to argue that there is no significant difference warranting separation of the two. The order *Clourodates* includes the *Jesturus* (jester), *Mimos* (pseudo-mime), and *Mimera* (mime) suborders. Of the false mimes, the most notable clade is *clouropodia*.

If this description of clown taxonomy makes you come away believing that coulrologists are altogether too obsessed with true/false dichotomies, you'd be correct!