Answer to Question #179116 in Zoology for Zainab nawaz

Question

 In one sense, the animal classification system above the

species level is artificial. In another sense, However, it is

real . Explain the Paradox?

Answer 1

The animal classification system above the species level is artificial because there are no particular or defined criteria for classification. Classification of class into order and family is not based on same criteria in terms of divergence level from an ancestor. Earlier the common ancestral criteria were not considered which gives rise to errors in classification.

Animal classification is real in one sense because the classification in past reflect the common evolutionary relationships. As phenotypic characters that are similar between the animals also have genetic similarities. Thus the classification by the genetic similarities also reflects evolutionary relationships between the organisms.