SEX-LINKED TRAITSRAITS

A trait associated with a gene that is carried only by the male or

female parent
In humans, each cell normally contains 23 pairs of chromosome, for
a total of 46.
22 of these pairs , called autosomes. The 23rd pair, the sex
chromosomes, differ between males and females.

HOW IS SEX-LINKAGE POSSIBLE ?

X-LINKED RECESSIVE INHERITANCE
Is a mode of inheritance in which a mutation in a gene on the X
chromosome causes the phenotype to be expressed in males ( who
are hemizygous for the gene mutation )
X-linked inheritance means that the gene causing the trait or
disorder is located on the X chromosomes

An example of sex-linked trait is color blindness, the ability to

discriminate between the red and green is controlled by the gene
located in X chromosome. The inability to distinguish between the
two colors is due to a recessive allele of this gene

HEMOPHILIA – IS A RARE DISORDER IN WHICH YOUR BLOOD

DOESN’T CLOT NORMALLY BECAUSE IT LACKS SUFFICIENT
BLOODCLOTTING PROTEINS. THIS DISEASE CAN BE FATAL.

Queen Victoria who ruled England from 1837-1891 was a carrier of

hemophilia . One of her sons had hemophilia. Several of her
daughters are carriers. Because her children married other
members of the royal families in Europe ,this heredity disease
spread through several royal families.
 CAROLUS LINNAEUS
Swedish Botanist & Zoologist
The Father Of Taxonomy
Date of Birth: May 23, 1707
Place of Birth: Village of Råshult in Småland, Sweden
Date of Death: January 10, 1778
Place of Death: Uppsala, Sweden

PERSONAL LIFE
The eldest son of Nils Linnaeus ,a pastor and botanist. And Christina Brodersonia.
- Carolus Linnaeus was originally groomed to be a clergyman, like his father and
paternal grandfather.- Linnaeus did not show much enthusiasm to become a
clergyman.
- Biology was the center of his interests.

In 1716-1727 carl linnaeus studied in a city växjö (vaxjo). Carl studied very bad,
especially on the basic subjects - theology and ancient languages. He was interested
in only botany and mathematics.
In 1727 Linnaeus passed the exams and was accepted to the Lund University.
In August 1728 Linnaeus was transferred in University of Uppsala. Copper mine in
the city Falun- In 1733 Linnaeus was actively engaged in mineralogy, wrote a
textbook on the this theme.

In June 23, 1735 he received the degree of doctor of medicine at the University of
Harderwijk. In 1734, for Christmas, Linnaeus met his future wife: her name was Sara
Lisa Morea. In the spring of 1735, shortly before departure for Europe, Linnaeus and
Sarah got engaged.(not officially) In September of 1739 held their wedding. All they
had seven children (two boys and five girls), of which two (boy and girl) died in
infancy.

He published “SPECIES PLANTARUM” in 1753 upon which he classified about

5900 species of plants.
He published “SYSTEMMA NATURAE” in 1758 which contains classification of
4200 species of animals.

A quote showing his

love for plants is:

“If a tree dies,plant another in its place”

- CAROLUS LINNAEUS
 Basic concept and principle
of taxonomy
 According to Mason (1950) taxonomy is the synthesis of all the
facts about the organisms into a concept and expression of the
interrelationship of organisms.
 Simpson (1961) defines taxonomy as the theoretical study of
classification, including its bases, principles, procedures, and
rules.
 Heywoods (1967) defined taxonomy as the way of arranging
and interpreting informations.
 Christoffersen (1995) defines taxonomy as the practice of
recognizing, naming and ordering taxa into a system of words
consistent with any kind of relationships among taxa that the
investigator has discovered in nature.
 Principle of taxonomy:
 Biochemical Relationships- All forms of like share organic
molecules that are almost identical from species to species.
 Homologous Structures- These are parts of different
organisms, often quite different, that developed from the
same ancestral body parts.
 Evolutionary Relationships- Taxonomists attempt to group
organisms in ways that show their evolutionary relationships.
 Monera- All prokaryotes are placed in the kingdom Monera.
All prokaryote is a single-celled organism that lacks a nucleus.
 Protista- Protista is made up of all the single-celled eukaryote
organisms. Eukaryotes differ from prokaryotes in that they
have a nucleus and membrane bound organelles.
 Fungi- Fungi are heterotrophic, meaning they must obtain
their food. They do not carry out photosynthesis.
 Plantae- Members of kingdom Plantae are multicellular
autotrophs.
 Animalia-Members of Animalia are multicellular heterotrophs.
They have cell membranes without cell walls.
 CLASSIFICATION BY ARISTOTLE
Aristotle, whose name means "the best purpose” was
a Greek philosopher and scientist, known as the Father
of Biology.

ARISTOTLE CLASSIFIED PLANTS BASED ON STEM

• SOFT STEM ( HERBS ) - OREGANO, LEMONGRASS &
CHIVES GARLIC
• WOODY/HARDER STEM - ROSES, BLACKBERRIES &
BOUGAINVILLA
( SHRUBS )
• WOODY & LONG STEM - TAMARIND, MANGO &
COCONUT
( TREE )

ARISTOTLE CLASSIFIED ANIMALS WHERE DO THEY

LIVED
• LAND DWELLERS - CATS, ANTS & SPIDER
• AIR DWELLERS - DRAGONFLY, BAT & EAGLE
• WATER DWELLERS - FISH, JELLY-FISH &
DOLPHIN
 Darwin & Natural Selection
Theory of Evolution
Evolution: The process of change over time
Specifically, a change in the frequency of a gene in a population over time
Charles Darwin
Father of Evolution
Proposed a mechanism for evolution, natural selection
Darwin went on a 5-year trip around the world on the ship, the HMS Beagle
As the ship’s naturalist, he made observations of organisms in South America and the Galapagos
Islands
Wrote a book, “Origin of the Species”
Natural Selection
Natural Selection: Organisms that are best adapted to an environment survive and reproduce
more than others
Darwin’s Theory of Natural Selection occurs in four steps:
Overproduction - Each species produces more offspring that can survive
Variation - Each individual has a unique combination of inherited traits.
Why is Variation Important?
Because the environment changes.
The more variation within a species, the more likely it will survive
EX: If everyone is the same, they are all vulnerable to the same environmental changes or
diseases
The more variation of types of species in an habitat, the more likely at least some will survive
Adaptation: an inherited trait that increases an organism’s chances of survival
Competition - Individuals COMPETE for limited resources:
Food, water, space, mates
Natural selection occurs through “Survival of the fittest”
Fitness: the ability to survive and reproduce
Not all individuals survive to adulthood

Selection- The individuals with the best traits / adaptations will survive and have the
opportunity to pass on it’s traits to offspring.
Natural selection acts on the phenotype (physical appearance), not the genotype (genetic
makeup)
Ex: When a predator finds its prey, it is due to the prey’s physical characteristics, like color or
slow speed, not the alleles (BB, Bb)
Individuals with traits that are not well suited to their environment either die or leave few
offspring.
Evolution occurs when good traits build up in a population over many generations and bad traits
are eliminated by the death of the individuals.
Descent with Modification
Descent with Modification – each living species has descended, with changes, from other
species over time.
Common Descent – all living organisms are related to one another
 DARWINIAN THEORY OF EVOLUTION
Charles Darwin
(1809-1882)
Born: February 12,1809
Died: April 19,1882
Full Name: Charles Robert Darwin
Known as the “father of evolution”

At the start of the voyage, Darwin read the early books of Charless Lyell.He was
convinced that the correct understanding of earth’s geological history was provided
by uniformitarianism.
Rare species were found in Galapagos Islands, although similar ones exist one the
west coast of South America.Darwin was surprised that one species of birds living in
an island was slightly different from those living in another.
Fossil Records
The most direct evidence that evolution happened can be based on fossil
record.Fossils are preserved remains of once-living organisms.The process of
fossilization probably occurs rarely.Usually plant or animal remains would decay or
be savenged before the process starts.In addition many fossils occurs in rocks that
are accessible to scientists.When they become available, they are often destroyed
by erosion and other natural processes before they can be collected.As a result,only
a fractionm of the species that ever existed (estimated by some to be as many as
500 million) are known from fossils.Nonetheless, the fossils that have been
discovered are sufficient to provide detailed information on the course of evolution
through time.
Natural Selection indicates indirect evidence of evolutionary change
Darwin’s finches are classic example of natural selection.Darwin collected
31specimens of finch from the three islands when he visited galapagod islands in
1835. Darwin, who was not an expert on birds, had trouble identifying the
specimens.By examining their bills, he believed that his collection contained wrens,
“gross-beaks”, and blackbirds.
Evidence for evolution can be found in other fields of Biology
• The Anatomical Record. When anatomical features of living animals are
examined, evidence of shared ancestry is often apparent.
• The Molecular Record. When gene or protein sequences from organisms are
arranged, species thought to be closely related based on fossil evidence are
seen to be more similar that species thought to be distantly related.
The molecular clues to the origin and evolution is buried deep in the genome of
every species. Genome is a set os chromosomes and genes that carries the complete
genetic information that an individual organism inherits from its parents.
 EVOLUTION
• Evolution is a concept which believes that existing animals and plants
developed by a process of gradual, continuous change from previously existing
forms.
• Evolution means change over time
ORGANIC EVOLUTION
 It is defined as change in genetics of a population over time (generations) in
response to evironmental changes
 A population refers to all individuals of the same species living in a defined
area at the same time.
INORGANIC EVOLUTION
 It is a theory that covers the creation of the universe. It is said that the non–
organic or non–living parts of the universe has also evolved in some way.
TYPES OF EVOLUTION
Biological Evolution – change in living organisms.
Geological Evolution – change in Earth s surface.
Technological Evolution -change in how society meets specific needs.
IDEAS OF EVOLUTION
Jean Baptiste de Lamarck (1744 – 1829) - hypothesized that acquired traits
were passed to offspring
Acquired traits – something you get in your lifetime
Ex: Evolution of the giraffe neck
Short neck ancestors stretched their necks to reach leaves. Stretched neck
was passed to offspring
Alfred Wallace and Charles Darwin
Both had the same idea of evolution by natural selection. Published at the
same time, but Darwin gets the credit
Charles Darwin (1809 – 1882)
Traveled the world as the ship’s naturalist.Collected many specimens, fossils,
and witnessed geologic events. Made him think the world was changing Collected
many different birds in the Galapagos Island. They were all species of Finches. He
realized there was a lot of variation in organisms. Wrote: On the Origin of Species
(1859). Explained evolution through natural selection
Alfred Russell Wallace (1823 – 1913)
Was a British naturalist, explorer, geographer,anthropologist, and biologist. Worked
in the Jungles of Malaysia. He is best known for independently conceiving the theory
of evolution through natural selection; his paper on the subject was jointly
published with some of Charles Darwin's writings in 1858
 IMPORTANCE OF TAXONOMY
• Taxonomy definition: “Taxonomy is a branch of science which tries
to scientifically classify all the existing living organisms based on certain set
of characters for easy of identification and study.
• The word taxonomy is derived from two Greek words - taxis, which means order or
arrangement, and nomos, which means law or science.
• An example of taxonomy is the way living beings are divided up into Kingdom,
Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species.
• An example of taxonomy is the Dewey Decimal system - the way libraries classify
non-fiction books by division and subdivisions. The number assigned, combined
with the first three letters of the author's last name, become the call number used
for deciding the order of arrangement of books on the library shelf.
• An example of taxonomy is the way a website classifies and organizes available
resources and information to help navigation within a website.
• Taxonomy was described by Carolus Linnaeus and hence he is called as Father of
taxonomy. Taxonomy is the scientific way of classification of all the living creatures
on the earth. Even human is called as homo sapiens as per taxonomy.
• Establishing taxonomy for entire biological species is a very task but these scientists
completed it very successfully during their time. Any new plants or animals
discovered latter were given name as per the rules of taxonomy established by
Linnaeus.
• This taxonomy is divided as plant taxonomy, animal or zoological
taxonomy, microbial taxonomy etc.
What is the importance of taxonomy in Biology?
1. Taxonomy aims to classify living creature: There are millions of organisms on the Earth
of different physical, physiological, regional differences. Taxonomy helps to classify these
millions of organisms scientifically into some categories like family, genus, species etc. for
ease of study and understanding.
Eukarya - organisms whose cells have a nucleus enclosed within membranes
Animals are multicellular eukaryotic organisms that form the biological
kingdom Animalia.
Arthropoda - which includes insects, arachnids, myriapods, and crustaceans
Hexapoda - constitutes the largest number of species of arthropods and includes
the insects
Insects or Insecta (from Latin insectum) are hexapod invertebrates and the largest group
within the arthropod phylum.
Pterygota - are a subclass of insects that includes the winged insects
Panorpida or Mecopterida is a proposed superorder of Endopterygota.
Flies are insects with a pair of functional wings for flight and a pair of vestigial hindwings
called halteres for balance. They are classified as an order called Diptera,
The Brachycera are a suborder of the order Diptera. It is a major suborder consisting of
around 120 families. The most widely known members of this suborder are the deer
flies and horse flies.
The Drosophilidae are a diverse, cosmopolitan family of flies, which includes fruit flies.
The Drosophilinae are the largest subfamily in the Drosophilidae.
Drosophila melanogaster is a species of fly (the taxonomic order Diptera) in the
family Drosophilidae. The species is known generally as the common fruit fly (though
inaccurately[2]) or vinegar fly.
2. Taxonomy helps to ascertain the number of living species on the earth. We have
discovered till now some thousands of plants and animal species and are recorded as per
taxonomy.
3. Taxonomy helps in getting an idea of what type of characters are present in the plant
or animal possess even before seeing or studying them in detail.
Ex: a) In plants: When one hears a plant to be of leguminous family, the characters we can
ascertain are that they have nitrogen synthesizing bacteria in their root nodules. They
have a seed which can be broken into exact two half etc.
b) In animals: If a living creature is mentioned under mollusk’s, it means the animals has
some sort of hard shell as a protective factor (like snail). If an animal is called a mammal,
it means the creature gives birth to well-formed babies and rears them with milk during
growth.
4. Taxonomy gives an ideas level of physical development: Taxonomy gives an idea of how
far an animal has physical and mental development and its position in the evolution tree
of organisms.
Ex: When you hear the word bacteria, you get an idea of single celled organism and fungi
as a multi-celled organism yet both or microbes. Physically & evolutionary wise, fungi are
advanced than bacteria.
5. Gives an idea of local fauna: Not all plants and animal species are found in all regions
of the earth. Example kangaroo is limited to Australia likewise kiwi to New-Zealand etc.
Even plants like Campanula Americana (Americana= America) is found in north America
while, the neem plant as Azadirachta Indica (Indica= India) due its prominent presence
there. Hence taxonomy helps to identify or ascertain the types of plants and animals that
can be found in particular region. This helps new scientists to go to the place of existence
of the species to collect them in case they need to experiment on them.
 HOW THE WORLD BEGAN:
BEFORE EARTH FORMATION

Some 5 billion years ago, a supernova exploded forming the heavily-

densest cloud of hydrogen gas and interstellar dust. At the center of the
intensely hot mixture, a new star began to form.
The disk of the very hot, white, dense mixture swirled around, then was
compressed by the great forces through the longest span of time. The new
star became our Sun and the compressed disk formed the Earth and its
neighboring planets.
When the sun began its nuclear reactivity, metallic iron and compounds of
silicon, aluminum, magnesium and oxygen were formed. Fragments of
these metallic compounds are contained in chondrite meteorites. These
fragments combined together gradually then formed bodies that acquire
their own gravity. These are planetesimals.
The planetesimal collided with other bodies, the grew in size, mass and
energy. When the size of the planetesimal reached a hundred kilometer or
more, their collision produced tremendous impact and cause melting and
vaporization to produce rocks and metallic iron that arrange themselves in
the space. At the center of this huge rocks, the material is compressed to
iron. Around the iron is the lighter rocks separated into mantle. This is
referred to as differentiation of planetologists. It is documented not only
for the planets but also for the large moons and the large asteroids (iron
meteorites). The miniature planets includes the asteroids Ceres, Palla, and
Vesta.
Ceres the largest asteroid
Pallas, second asteroid
Asteroid Vesta second to Ceres in size found Mars and Jupiter
 MALTHUSIAN THEORY
Thomas Malthus
 Born: Februaury 14, 1766, Surrey, UK
 Died: December 29, 1834, Bath, UK
 He wrote an essay on “The Principles of
Population”
 Debatable whether the principles of Malthus
two hundred years ago have any
relevance to the modern world.
Malthus Theory
 In 1798,Thomas Malthus published his views on the effect of population on
food supply. His theory has two basic principles:
 Population grows at a geometric rate i.e. 1, 2, 4, 16, 32, etc.
 Food production increases at an arithmetic rate i.e. 1, 2, 3, 4, etc.
Observation:
 while resources tended to grow arithmetically, populations exhibit
exponential growth.
Theory of Population
 Malthus was very concerned by the condition of the poor and particularly by
rural poverty.
 1st edition of the Essay is a priori polemic – the 2nd edition included much
empirical observation.
The Core Principles of Malthus
 Food is very necessary for human existence.
 Human population tends to grow faster than the power in the Earth to
produce subsistence .
 The effect of these two unequal powers must be kept equal.
 Since humans tend not to limit their population size voluntarily – “preventive
checks” in Malthus terminology.
Positive Checks / Malthusian Catastrophe (Increased Death Rate)
 Positive checks were ways to reduce population size/that may shorten the
average lifespan by an event or naturally occurring checks.
 This phenomenon is called as Malthusian Catastrophe.
Negative Checks (Decreased Birth Rate)
 Negative checks were used to limit the population growth.
 Malthus favored moral restraint as a check on population growth.
 THEORY OF EVOLUTION
"LAMARCKISM"
THEORY OF INHERITANCE AND ACQUIRED
• Jean-Baptiste de lamarck
• Born: 1 August 1744
• Died: 18 December 1829
• Known for: Evolution; inheritance of acquired
characteristics
• Title of the book: Philosophie Zoologique
LAMARCKISM
(postulate)
• Living organism continually increase due to an internal vital force
• Environtment influences living organism
• Acquired changes were passed to offspring
USE AND DISUSE OF ORGANS
• This means that if any part of the body is used it quickly grows and
develops, while the parts that are not use slowly weeken, atrophy and
may disappear.
INHERITANCE OF ACQUIRED CHARACTERS.
• LAMARCK though that the animals could convey to their descendant
the characteristics they had acquired in the course of their live.
CRITISISIM
1. August Weismann THEORY OF CONTINUITY GERM PLASM
2. Ivan Petrovich Pavlov
3. Wrestler
 STONE AGE PERIOD
• Because of LUCY
• Fossils
• In Ethiopia, the assembly is also known as Dinkinesh, which means "you are
marvelous" in the Amharic language. Lucy was discovered in 1974 in Africa,
near the village Hadar in the Awash Valley of the Afar Triangle in Ethiopia, by
paleoanthropologist Donald Johanson of the Cleveland Museum of Natural
History.
• The bones were of a girl.
• She was about 20 years old.
• And scientist named her Lucy.
FOSSILS vs ARTIFACTS
• FOSSILS - are remains of living things (plants, animals, people)
• ARTIFACTS – are remains of things that were made.
PALEOLITHIC PERIOD
(old age)
• Comes from the word:
• Paleo - old
• Lithos – Stone
• During Paleolithic period which last from the beginning of human life until
about 10,000 BCE, people were nomads
• They lived in groups of 20-30, and spent most of their time hunting and
gathering
• These early people developed simple tools such as: spears and axes, made
from bone ,wood and stone.
MESOLITHIC PERIOD
(middle age)
• Mesos = Middle
• Lithos = Stone
• Mesolithic age is a period of transition from Old stone age to the New Stone
Age.
• They are also known as homo-erectus. Means “upright man”.
• During the Mesolithic, humans learned to hunt in groups and to fish, and learn
how to domesticate animals and plants.
• People started living in a huts, Instead of caves.
• They had new tools but still used stone. They introduced bone tools, bow and
arrows, and microlith.
• Tools are combined with other tools and refined for hunting.
• Pastoral societies - pastoralism is technology that supports the domestication
of animals.
• Horticultural societies – horticulture is technology based on using hand tools
and cultivate plants.
 NEOLITCHIC PERIOD
(new age)

• Also called Agricultural Revolution

• The shift from hunting and gathering to agriculture led to permanent
settlements, the establishments of social classes and the eventual rise of
civilization.
• Farming and domestication
• First crops were cereals
• Muskmelons, lentils, barley and wheat, chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
• Humans became sedentary.
• The Neolithic was began with the rise of farming and ended when metal tools
became widespread in the copper age or bronze age.
 SEX-INFLUENCED TRAITS

A sex influenced trait is controlled by a pair of alleles found on the

autosomes. (Not on the sex chromosomes)

Not all inherited differences between the sexes are due to sex
linked genes. An example is the gene for baldness.

Its expression is influenced by gender (presence of hormones such

as : estrogen, progesterone, testosterone etc.)

This gene is not on the x chromosome but its expression for its
dominance is affected by the sex of the individual involved. This
means that it acts differently on males and on females. It is
dominant(B) on males and recessive(b) on females.

The reason for this is that chemicals in the male’s body influences
the body of this gene. Sex influenced trait are caused by genes that
act differently in males and females.

Dihydrotestosterone is fairly a powerful male sex hormone that

causes baldness.
 Taxonomy
Taxonomy is a branch of science which tries to scientifically classify all the existing living
organisms based on certain set of characters for easy of identification and study.
Refers to organizing species into defferent groups
The Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus regarded as the father of taxonomy
Organisms grouped together into taxa (singular: taxon) and this groups are given a taxonomic
rank; group of a given rank can be aggregated to form a super-group of higher rank, thus creating
a taxonomic hierarchy
Taxonomic Hierarchy
 Process of arranging various groups, class and other categories into successive levels of
the biological classification in a sequence either in a decreasing or increasing order from
kingdom to species and vice versa. Each of this level or hierarchy is called as the taxonomic
category or rank. In this system of classification, Kingdom is always ranked high followed
by division, class, order, family, genus, and species which is always ranked the lowest in
the Hierarchy.
 Taxonomic Hierarchy Categories were introduced by Linnaeus, therefore it is also known
as a Linnaean hierarchy.
Biological Classification
 The study of taxonomy has led to the taxonomic categories – Kingdom, phylum, class,
order, family, genus, and species.
Species
 Species is the most specific major taxonomic rank; species are sometimes divided into
subspecies, but not all species have multiple forms that are different enough to be called
subspecies. There are an estimated 8.7 million different species of organisms on Earth,
but the vast majority have yet to be discovered and categorized. While each genus name
is unique, the same species names can be used for different organisms.
Genus
 Genus (plural: genera) is even more specific than family. It is the first part of an organism’s
scientific name using binomial nomenclature; the second part is the species name. An
organism’s scientific name is always italicized, and the genus name is capitalized while the
species name is not. Genus and species are the only taxonomic ranks that are italicized.
Family
 Family is, in turn, more specific. Some families in the order Carnivora, for example, are
Canidae (dogs, wolves, foxes), Felidae (cats), Mephitidae (skunks), and Ursidae (bears).
There are 12 total families in the order Carnivora.
Order
 Order is more specific than class. Some of Linnaeus’ orders are still used today, such as
Lepidoptera (the order of butterflies and moths). There are between 19-26 orders of
Mammalia, depending on how organisms are classified—sources differ. Some orders of
Mammalia are Primates, Cetaceans (whales, dolphins, and porpoises), Carnivora (large
carnivores/omnivores), and Chiroptera (bats).
Class
 Class was the most general rank proposed by Linnaeus; phyla were not introduced until
the 19th Century. There are 108 different classes in the kingdom Animalia, including
Mammalia (mammals), Aves (birds), and Reptilia (reptiles), among many others. The
classes of Animalia that Linnaeus proposed are similar to the ones used today, but
Linnaeus’ classes of plants were based on attributes like the arrangement of flowers
rather than relatedness. Today’s classes of plants are different than the ones Linnaeus
used, and classes are not frequently used in botany.
Phylum
 Phylum (plural: phyla) is the next rank after kingdom; it is more specific than kingdom,
but less specific than class. There are 35 phyla in the kingdom Animalia, including
Chordata (all organisms with a dorsal nerve cord), Porifera (sponges), and Arthropoda
(arthropods).
Kingdom
 Before domains were introduced, kingdom was the highest taxonomic rank. In the past,
the different kingdoms were Animalia, Plantae, Fungi, Protista, Archaea, and Bacteria
(Archaea and Bacteria were sometimes grouped into one kingdom, Monera). However,
some of these groupings, such as Protista, are not very accurate. Protista includes all
eukaryotic organisms that are not animals, plants, or fungi, but some of these organisms
are not very closely related to one another. There is no set agreement on the kingdom
classification, and some researchers have abandoned it altogether. Currently, it continues
to be revised; in 2015 researchers suggested splitting Protista into two new
kingdoms, Protozoa and Chromista.
Example of Taxonomy
The scientific classification of humans is as follows:
 Domain: Eukaryota
 Kingdom: Animalia
 Phylum: Chordata
 Class: Mammalia
 Order: Primates
 Family: Hominidae
 Genus: Homo
 Species: sapiens
 HUMAN EVOLUTION
Human evolution is the evolutionary process that led to the emergence of anatomically modern humans,
beginning with the evolutionary history of primates—in particular genus Homo—and leading to the
emergence of Homo sapiens as a distinct species of the hominid family, the great apes. This process
involved the gradual development of traits such as human bipedalism and language, as well as
interbreeding with other hominins, which indicate that human evolution was not linear but a web. The
study of human evolution involves several scientific disciplines, including physical
anthropology, primatology, archaeology, paleontology, neurobiology, ethology, linguistics, evolutionary
psychology, embryology and genetics. Genetic studies show that primates diverged from
other mammals about 85 million years ago, in the Late Cretaceous period, and the earliest fossils appear in
the Paleocene, around 55 million years ago.
Anatomical Changes
Human evolution from its first separation from the last common ancestor of humans and chimpanzees is
characterized by a number of morphological, developmental, physiological, and behavioral changes. The
most significant of these adaptations are bipedalism, increased brain size, lengthened ontogeny (gestation
and infancy), and decreased sexual dimorphism. The relationship between these changes is the subject of
ongoing debate. Other significant morphological changes included the evolution of a power and precision
grip, a change first occurring in H. erectus.
Bipedalism
Bipedalism is the basic adaptation of the hominid and is considered the main cause behind a suite of skeletal
changes shared by all bipedal hominids. The earliest hominin, of presumably primitive bipedalism, is
considered to be either Sahelanthropus or Orrorin, both of which arose some 6 to 7 million years ago. The
non-bipedal knuckle-walkers, the gorilla and chimpanzee, diverged from the hominin line over a period
covering the same time, so either of Sahelanthropus or Orrorin may be our last shared
ancestor. Ardipithecus, a full biped, arose somewhat later.
Encephalization
The human species eventually developed a much larger brain than that of other primates—typically
1,330 cm3(81 cu in) in modern humans, nearly three times the size of a chimpanzee or gorilla brain. After a
period of stasis with Australopithecus anamensis and Ardipithecus, species which had smaller brains as a
result of their bipedal locomotion,[27] the pattern of encephalization started with Homo habilis, whose
600 cm3 (37 cu in) brain was slightly larger than that of chimpanzees. This evolution continued in Homo
erectus with 800–1,100 cm3 (49–67 cu in), and reached a maximum in Neanderthals with 1,200–
1,900 cm3 (73–116 cu in), larger even than modern Homo sapiens. This brain increase manifested during
postnatal brain growth, far exceeding that of other apes (heterochrony). It also allowed for extended
periods of social learning and language acquisition in juvenile humans, beginning as much as 2 million years
ago.
Sexual dimorphism
The reduced degree of sexual dimorphism in humans is visible primarily in the reduction of the male canine
tooth relative to other ape species (except gibbons) and reduced brow ridges and general robustness of
males. Another important physiological change related to sexuality in humans was the evolution of hidden
estrus. Humans are the only hominoids in which the female is fertile year round and in which no special
signals of fertility are produced by the body (such as genital swelling or overt changes in proceptivity during
estrus).
Ulnar opposition
The ulnar opposition—the contact between the thumb and the tip of the little finger of the same hand—is
unique to the genus Homo, including Neanderthals, the Sima de los Huesos hominins and anatomically
modern humans. In other primates the thumb is short and unable to touch the little finger. The ulnar
opposition facilitates the precision grip and power grip of the human hand, underlying all the skilled
manipulations.
Other changes
A number of other changes have also characterized the evolution of humans, among them an increased
importance on vision rather than smell; a longer juvenile developmental period and higher infant
dependency; a smaller gut; faster basal metabolism; loss of body hair; evolution of sweat glands; a change
in the shape of the dental arcade from being u-shaped to being parabolic; development of a chin (found
in Homo sapiens alone); development of styloid processes; and the development of a descended larynx
History of study
Before Darwin
The word homo, the name of the biological genus to which humans belong, is Latin for "human". It was
chosen originally by Carl Linnaeus in his classification system. The word "human" is from the Latin humanus,
the adjectival form of homo. The Latin "homo" derives from the Indo-European root *dhghem, or
"earth".Linnaeus and other scientists of his time also considered the great apes to be the closest relatives
of humans based on morphological and anatomical similarities
Darwin
The possibility of linking humans with earlier apes by descent became clear only after 1859 with the
publication of Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species, in which he argued for the idea of the evolution of
new species from earlier ones. Darwin's book did not address the question of human evolution, saying only
that "Light will be thrown on the origin of man and his history."
The first debates about the nature of human evolution arose between Thomas Henry Huxley and Richard
Owen. Huxley argued for human evolution from apes by illustrating many of the similarities and differences
between humans and apes, and did so particularly in his 1863 book Evidence as to Man's Place in Nature.
However, many of Darwin's early supporters (such as Alfred Russel Wallace and Charles Lyell) did not
initially agree that the origin of the mental capacities and the moral sensibilities of humans could be
explained by natural selection, though this later changed. Darwin applied the theory of evolution and sexual
selection to humans when he published The Descent of Man in 1871.
Genus Australopithecus
The genus Australopithecus evolved in eastern Africa around 4 million years ago before spreading
throughout the continent and eventually becoming extinct 2 million years ago. During this time period
various forms of australopiths existed, including Australopithecus anamensis, Au. afarensis, Au. sediba,
and Au. africanus. There is still some debate among academics whether certain African hominid species of
this time, such as Au. robustus and Au. boisei, constitute members of the same genus; if so, they would be
considered to be Au. robust australopiths whilst the others would be considered Au. gracile australopiths.
However, if these species do indeed constitute their own genus, then they may be given their own name,
the Paranthropus.
Evolution of Genus Homo
The earliest documented representative of the genus Homo is Homo habilis, which evolved
around 2.8 million years ago, and is arguably the earliest species for which there is positive evidence of the
use of stone tools. The brains of these early hominins were about the same size as that of a chimpanzee,
although it has been suggested that this was the time in which the human SRGAP2 gene doubled, producing
a more rapid wiring of the frontal cortex. During the next million years a process of
rapid encephalization occurred, and with the arrival of Homo erectus and Homo ergaster in the fossil
record, cranial capacity had doubled to 850 cm3. (Such an increase in human brain size is equivalent to each
generation having 125,000 more neurons than their parents.) It is believed that Homo erectus and Homo
ergaster were the first to use fire and complex tools, and were the first of the hominin line to leave Africa,
spreading throughout Africa, Asia, and Europe between 1.3 to 1.8 million years ago.
H. habilis and H. gautengensis
Homo habilis lived from about 2.8 to 1.4 Ma. The species evolved in South and East Africa in the Late
Pliocene or Early Pleistocene, 2.5–2 Ma, when it diverged from the australopithecines. Homo habilis had
smaller molars and larger brains than the australopithecines, and made tools from stone and perhaps
animal bones. One of the first known hominins was nicknamed 'handy man' by discoverer Louis Leakey due
to its association with stone tools. Some scientists have proposed moving this species out of Homo and
into Australopithecus due to the morphology of its skeleton being more adapted to living on treesrather
than to moving on two legs like Homo sapiens.
In May 2010, a new species, Homo gautengensis, was discovered in South Africa.
H. rudolfensis and H. georgicus
These are proposed species names for fossils from about 1.9–1.6 Ma, whose relation to Homo habilis is not
yet clear.
Homo rudolfensis refers to a single, incomplete skull from Kenya. Scientists have suggested that this was
another Homo habilis, but this has not been confirmed.
Homo georgicus, from Georgia, may be an intermediate form between Homo habilis and Homo erectus, or
a sub-species of Homo erectus.
H. ergaster and H. erectus
The first fossils of Homo erectus were discovered by Dutch physician Eugene Dubois in 1891 on
the Indonesian island of Java. He originally named the material Anthropopithecus erectus (1892–1893,
considered at this point as a chimpanzee-like fossil primate) and Pithecanthropus erectus (1893–1894,
changing his mind as of based on its morphology, which he considered to be intermediate between that of
humans and apes). Years later, in the 20th century, the German physician and paleoanthropologist Franz
Weidenreich (1873–1948) compared in detail the characters of Dubois' Java Man, then
named Pithecanthropus erectus, with the characters of the Peking Man, then named Sinanthropus
pekinensis. Weidenreich concluded in 1940 that because of their anatomical similarity with modern humans
it was necessary to gather all these specimens of Java and China in a single species of the genus Homo, the
species Homo erectus. Homo erectus lived from about 1.8 Ma to about 70,000 years ago—which would
indicate that they were probably wiped out by the Toba catastrophe; however, nearby Homo
floresiensis survived it. The early phase of Homo erectus, from 1.8 to 1.25 Ma, is considered by some to be
a separate species, Homo ergaster, or as Homo erectus ergaster, a subspecies of Homo erectus.
H. cepranensis and H. antecessor
These are proposed as species that may be intermediate between H. erectus and H. heidelbergensis.
H. antecessor is known from fossils from Spain and England that are dated 1.2 Ma–500 ka.
H. cepranensis refers to a single skull cap from Italy, estimated to be about 800,000 years old.
H. heidelbergensis
H. heidelbergensis ("Heidelberg Man") lived from about 800,000 to about 300,000 years ago. Also proposed
as Homo sapiens heidelbergensis or Homo sapiens paleohungaricus.
H. rhodesiensis, estimated to be 300,000–125,000 years old. Most current researchers place Rhodesian Man
within the group of Homo heidelbergensis, though other designations such as archaic Homo
sapiens and Homo sapiens rhodesiensis have been proposed.
In February 2006 a fossil, the Gawis cranium, was found which might possibly be a species intermediate
between H. erectus and H. sapiens or one of many evolutionary dead ends. The skull from Gawis, Ethiopia,
is believed to be 500,000–250,000 years old. Only summary details are known, and the finders have not yet
released a peer-reviewed study. Gawis man's facial features suggest its being either an intermediate

Neanderthal and Denisovan

Homo neanderthalensis, alternatively designated as Homo sapiens neanderthalensis, lived in Europe and
Asia from 400,000 to about 28,000 years ago. There are a number of clear anatomical differences
between anatomically modern humans (AMH) and Neanderthal populations. Many of these relate to the
superior adaptation to cold environments possessed by the Neanderthal populations. Their surface to
volume ratio is an extreme version of that found amongst Inuit populations, indicating that they were less
inclined to lose body heat than were AMH. From brain Endocasts, Neanderthals also had significantly larger
brains. This would seem to indicate that the intellectual superiority of AMH populations may be
questionable. More recent research by Eiluned Pearce, Chris Stringer, R.I.M. Dunbar, however, have shown
important differences in Brain architecture. For example, in both the orbital chamber size and in the size of
the occipital lobe, the larger size suggests that the Neanderthal had a better visual acuity than modern
humans. This would give a superior vision in the inferior light conditions found in Glacial Europe. It also
seems that the higher body mass of Neanderthals had a correspondingly larger brain mass required for
body care and control.
H. floresiensis
H. floresiensis, which lived from approximately 190,000 to 50,000 years before present (BP), has been
nicknamed hobbit for its small size, possibly a result of insular dwarfism.H. floresiensis is intriguing both for
its size and its age, being an example of a recent species of the genus Homo that exhibits derived traits not
shared with modern humans. In other words, H. floresiensis shares a common ancestor with modern
humans, but split from the modern human lineage and followed a distinct evolutionary path.

H. sapiens
H. sapiens (the adjective sapiens is Latin for "wise" or "intelligent") emerged around 300,000 years ago,
likely derived from Homo heidelbergensis.Between 400,000 years ago and the second interglacial period in
the Middle Pleistocene, around 250,000 years ago, the trend in intra-cranial volume expansion and the
elaboration of stone tool technologies developed, providing evidence for a transition from H. erectus to H.
sapiens. The direct evidence suggests there was a migration of H. erectus out of Africa, then a
further speciationof H. sapiens from H. erectus in Africa.
 PUNNETT SQUARE

 The Punnett square is a square diagram that is used to predict the genotypes of a
particular cross or breeding expparents
 The diagram is used by biologists to determine the probability of an offspring having a
particular genotype
 These tables can be used to examine the genotipic outcome probabilities of the
offspring of a single trait (allele), or when crossing multiple traits from the parents.
 Named after Reginald expparents
Reginald C. Punnett

 Was a British geneticist who co-founded, with William Bateson, the Journal of Genetics
in 1910. Punnett is probably best remembered today as the creator of the Punnett
square, a tool still used by biologists to predict the probability of possible genotypes of
offspring.
Genes

 Pieces of DNA that carry hereditary instructions and are passed from parents.
Allele

 Discrete version of the same gene

Genotype

 The genotype is the part of the genetic makeup of a cell, and therefore of any
individual, which determines one of its characteristics.
 The genetic code one inherits for a specific trait.
 Homozygous - A genotype carrying two dominant or two recessive alleles. A pure
dominant or pure recessive
 Heterozygous - A genotype carrying one dominant and one recessive allele.
Penotype

 The composite of the organism's observable characteristics or traits, including as its

morphology or physical form and structure; its developmental processes
 The physical manifestation of a specific genetic trait that signals the inheritance of
certain genetic codes.
 Dominant – Upper case (A)
 Recessive – Lower case (a)
 Each parent has two genes for a trait (Aa), (aa), or (AA)

Monohybrid Cross

 Mating between two organisms with different variations at one genetic chromosome
of interest
 Genetic mix between two individuals who have homozygous genotypes, or genotypes
that have completely dominant or completely recessive alleles, which result in
opposite phenotypes for a certain genetic trait.
Dihybrid Cross

 A cross between two different lines/genes that differ in two observed traits
 Between the alleles of both these locus there is a relationship of complete dominance
- recessive
 Dihybrid cross is easy to visualize using a Punnett square of dimensions 4 x 4