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Bios Vol. 17, No. 1 (Mar., 1946) , pp. 51-59 (9 pages) Published By: Beta Beta Beta Biological Society https://www.jstor.org/stable/4604921 Journal Information BIOS, the quarterly journal of Beta Beta Beta Biological Society, was founded in 1930. It has a three-fold purpose: to publish matters that pertain to the affairs of the Society, to publish articles by members, and to publish articles that will be of general interest to biologists. Many distinguished biologists have contributed manuscripts for publication in BIOS, written especially with the undergraduate reader in mind. Subjects covered include articles on current research, developments in biology, biology as a profession, and graduate and professional training for biologists. Special emphasis is placed on the publication of undergraduate research papers. Publisher Information TriBeta was founded in 1922 at Oklahoma City University by Dr. Frank G. Brooks and a group of his students. The idea of an honor and professional society for biology students spread rapidly and by 1925 the society was a national organization. Biennial national conventions of student and faculty members began in that year and in 1930 the society journal, BIOS, began publishing student research, articles of interest to biologists, and society news. As TriBeta grew, it was divided into regional and district groups, each of which holds a convention annually. At the heart of every district and national meeting are student research presentations. Awards are given for outstanding individual and chapter accomplishment. Rights & Usage This item is part of a JSTOR Collection. Skip to content Genus (noun, “GEE-nus,” plural, Genera, “GEN-er-ah”)This is a word used in taxonomy for a group of closely related species. Taxonomy is the study of how organisms relate to each other. Genus is a very close relation — the species share a common ancestor that is relatively recent. Over time, groups of organisms in the genus adapted to slightly different ways of life. They formed different species. For example, the genus Panthera is a group of closely related big cats. Lions, tigers, leopards, jaguars and snow leopards are all members of genus Panthera. They are not as closely related to smaller cats such as the jungle cat, sand cat and domestic cat. Those cats are in genus Felis. But they’re all cats. Both genera are in the family Felidae. The genus is the first part of the two-part species naming system called “binomial nomenclature.” This is a formal system to name living things. Sometimes scientists call these names an organism’s “scientific name” or “Latin name.” Each two-part name includes the genus and the species. For example, humans aren’t just sapiens — that’s our species. Our full scientific name is Homo sapiens, which includes our genus Homo. In a sentenceOnce dismissed as just another Apatosaurus, scientists now argue that a large dinosaur deserves its own genus — Brontosaurus. Check out the full list of Scientists Say. Educators and Parents, Sign Up for The Cheat SheetWeekly updates to help you use Science News Explores in the learning environment Thank you for signing up! There was a problem signing you up. More Stories from Science News Explores on Life Genus
A genus is a taxonomic category ranking used in biological classification that is below family and above species. Species exhibiting similar characteristics comprise a genus. An estimate of the number of published genus names was at about 510,000 as of 2016. (1) In 2018, the Catalogue of Life quoted 173,363 accepted genus names for both extant and extinct species. Also included in their report are genus names with no species for certain groups. (2) In binomial nomenclature, the genus is used as the first word of a scientific name in which the first letter is capitalized. Together with the specific epithet, they are italicized, e.g., Homo sapiens, or underlined if handwritten, e.g., Homo sapiens. Biology definition: Classification SystemThe classification of organisms is the systematic grouping of living things based on characteristics, hierarchical, or phylogenetic relationships. It is one of the major aspects of taxonomy. Organisms are investigated in terms of their morphology, anatomy, physiology, evolution, behavior, development, and genetics in order to find out relationships between and among them. They are then classified into taxonomic groups and into a taxonomic hierarchy. The common taxonomic levels are domain, kingdom, phyla, class, order, family, genus, and species. Genus taxonomy is a rank generally above the species level and below the family level. One of the most prominent contributors to a systematized classification of organisms is the Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus. The classification system where organisms are categorized into taxa is called Linnaean, which was named after him. He also proposed the binomial nomenclature. In the Linnaean system, organisms are grouped based on the presumed homologies, i.e. similarities in anatomical, morphological, and physiological features. The more homologous structures shared between organisms, the more they are likely evolutionary related. The naming systemIn binomial nomenclature, the genus is used as the first word of a scientific name. The genus name is always capitalized and italicized. For example, the binomial name of the lion is Panthera leo. The first part, Panthera, is the genus name whereas the second part, leo, is the specific epithet. A taxonomist (experts in taxonomy) assigns a scientific name for a particular species. In order for a genus to be descriptively useful, it must have monophyly, reasonable compactness, and distinctness. Willi Hennig, a German biologist, defined monophyly as groups based on shared derived characteristics or traits that distinguish the group from other groups of organisms. As for reasonable compactness, it means that the genus needs not be expanded unnecessarily. The genus name must also show distinctness with respect to evolutionarily relevant criteria such as ecology, morphology, or biogeography. In genus classification and naming, the Nomenclature Codes provide an archetypal standard. The binomial name is different from the common or vernacular name. The latter is non-standardized and varies by location as opposed to the former that is standardized and usage is globally accepted. Genus vs. SpeciesA species is regarded as the most basic unit or category in the biological system of classification. To be considered into a species rank, the group must have at least two of its members capable of reproducing fertile offspring (such as by sexual reproduction). Organisms from different species, although they belong under the same genus, generally cannot interbreed as their offspring would likely be infertile. The species of a particular group of organisms would, therefore, pertain to those that can reproduce and sire fertile offspring of the same kind. Thus, they would have the same set of DNA, similar physical and morphological attributes, and demonstrate communal behavior. The species is located below the genus rank. Thus, a genus is more encompassing and relatively wider in scope than a species. Nevertheless, the genus lies below the taxonomic family and therefore it would be less inclusive than a family since the latter serves as the collective umbrella of related genera. Certain species can still be further subdivided into subgroups (called subspecies), such as varieties, formae, etc. The genus-species format is essential in naming an organism. The genus is the generic name whereas the species is the specific name in a binomial nomenclature. For example, Allium cepa (commonly known as onion). The Allium is the generic name whereas the cepa is the specific name.
Genus and FamilyA taxonomic family is a group of one or more genera. The genera under a particular family share a common attribute. Thus, a family would usually be more inclusive and consists of a greater number of organisms. The genera of a particular family evolve from the same ancestors for having relatively common characteristics. In the taxonomic rank, a family is above the genus level and below the order. Type ConceptIn modern biological classification, the type genus serves as the representative of a taxonomic family. Thus, one or more genera in a family would define the latter. In zoology, the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature provides the fundamental standards. Accordingly, the family-group name would be based upon the type genus. For example, the genus Cricetus (Leske, 1779) is the type genus of the family Cricetidae. Another example is the mallard Anas platyrhynchos. Anas is the type genus for the family Anatidae. Canis lupus (dogs and wolves) belongs to the family Canidae. The family name is derived from the generic name Canis. The genus could serve as the root and the family name as the stem, with a name often ending in –idae. There are also instances wherein the next major taxonomic rank, particularly order, is based as well on the type genus. In dogs and wolves, for instance, belong to the order Carnivora. A family name should have a type genus just as a type genus has a type species. If a specimen turns out to be of another genus, then the generic name becomes a junior synonym. UsageIn zoology, a genus may be available or unavailable. The available names are genus names that are published based upon the standards of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN), as well as by the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature. The unavailable names were those that were not published because of nonconformity to the ICZN Code. Other possible reasons are incorrect spellings and lack of type species. In botany, an available name is a validly published name whereas an unavailable name is an invalid name. A genus name that is invalid is given a label, nomen invalidum (nom. Inval.). A valid name in botany is labeled as the correct name or current name. The genus name could change over time and be replaced with another. This happens when new information comes along. The formerly accepted name, as a result, becomes a synonym. For example, Physeter (Linnaeus, 1758) has the following synonyms: Catodon (Linnaeus, 1761), Cetus (Billberg, 1828), Meganeuron (Gray, 1865), Megistosaurus (Harlan, 1828), Phiseter (Bonnaterre, 1789), Physalus (Lacépède, 1804), Physeterus (Duméril, 1806), and Tursio (Fleming, 1822).(2) A homonym in biological classification is a name that is associated with two different taxa. For example, the ambrosia beetle and the platypus had been given the generic name Platypus. Nevertheless, the ambrosia beetle was the first to get a generic name Platypus and thus the platypus eventually was given a new generic name Ornithorhynchus. The two cannot share the same generic name since they are both from Kingdom Animalia. However, the use of the same genera for specimens from different kingdoms is still discouraged. There are thousands of cases wherein species from different kingdoms share with the same genera. For example, Aoutus is the generic name for the night monkeys and also for the golden peas. ExamplesHomo(from Latin that literally means “man”) is a genus of humans that belong to the tribe Hominini of the family Hominidae, order Primates, class Mammalia. The fundamental features of the human species in the genus Homo are bipedalism, opposable thumb, possession of a notochord that is eventually replaced by a vertebral column, live birth, and mammary glands producing breast milk in women to nourish the newly born. In this genus example, several species are included. However, only one species remain extant, i.e. H. sapiens sapiens (modern). Below is the genus list of human species (genus Homo).
These species possess a highly developed brain and advanced skills, particularly in abstract reasoning, problem-solving, self-awareness, and articulate communication. They walk on two legs, with an erect carriage. They have relatively smaller teeth than other primates. These features set them apart from other genera, such as Australopithecus. The genus Australopithecus also belongs to the tribe Hominini. Their brains were smaller, about 35% of the brain size of modern humans. They generally had smaller built than humans and were shorter (about 3’11 to 4’7). They were more morphologically similar to chimpanzees and bonobos than to humans since their bodies are fully covered with hair. Astralopithecus, though, play a part in human evolution. The genus Homois presumed to originate from one of the species of this genus million years ago.(4) Ardipithecus is another genus belonging to family Hominidae. Members of this genus were already extinct. They diverged from the chimpanzees. They have a grasping hallux or big toe that enabled them to move from one tree to another with relative ease. This genus as the earliest human ancestor is a matter of debate though since they likely behave more like a chimpanzee than humans. Sahelanthropus is a genus comprised of extinct species from the Miocene epoch, particularly during the time close to that when chimpanzees and humans diverged.
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© Biology Online. Content provided and moderated by Biology Online Editors Who defined genus and species?Genus taxonomy is a rank generally above the species level and below the family level. One of the most prominent contributors to a systematized classification of organisms is the Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus.
Who defined genus on basis of similar features?Linnaeus introduced a simple binomial system, based on the combination of two Latin names denoting genus and species; similar to the way that a name and surname identify humans.
Is genus a group of similar species?It includes all the organisms that are similar enough to perpetuate or breed. Now, a genus is a group of related species that are similar to one another in certain characteristics.
Why is genus and species used?This system is called "binomial nomenclature." These names are important because they allow people throughout the world to communicate unambiguously about animal species and plant species. This naming system works because there are sets of international rules about how to name animals and plants.
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Genus is a group of similar and related species in biological science was used by
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