STAGES IN TAXONOMY•
Alpha taxonomy (α): The level concerned with the characterization and naming of species
Beta taxonomy (β): The level concerned with the arrangement of species into a natural system of lower and higher taxa.
ORThe classification of species into different
taxonomic categories OR The arrangement of the species into a natural system of lower and higher categories
Gamma (γ): It deals with intraspecific variations and evolutionary studies, so as to include the organic diversity (
some vertebrates, birds & few insects like Lepidoptera)10
•
Alpha taxonomy (α): Alpha taxonomy is the discipline
concerned with finding, describing and naming species of living or fossil organisms This field is supported by institutions holding collections of these organisms, with relevant data, carefully curated such institutes include
natural history museums, herbaria and botanical gardens The term "alpha" refers to alpha taxonomy being the first and most basic step in taxonomy.
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Alpha taxomomy – a dead science?•
Alpha taxonomy is
the discipline of detecting, describing, and classifying new species, as well as revising the classification of previously described species.
• It is among the most tedious
of all biological endeavors, involving intensive collecting and detailed observation, measurement,
description, and illustration, and also sometimes gathering information at the cellular (e.g., chromosome numbers) or molecular (e.g., DNA sequences) levels Functioning at the professional level in alpha taxonomy requires extensive training, because it is an information- intensive field it requires detailed knowledge of centuries
of previous literature, of the existing classification, and of the morphology and evolution of a particular group.
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