General
 

Taxonomy is the practice and science of classification. The word comes from the Greek taxis = 'order' + 'law' or 'science'. Taxonomies, or taxonomic schemes, are composed of taxonomic units known as taxa (singular taxon), or kinds of things that are arranged frequently in a hierarchical structure, typically related by subtype-super type relationships, also called parent-child relationships.

 

Meristics
 

Meristics is an area of ichthyology which relates to counting quantitive features of fish, such as the number of fins or scales. A meristic (countable trait) can be used to describe a particular species of fish, or used to identify an unknown species. Meristic traits are often described in a shorthand notation called a meristic formula.

 

Kariotypes
 

A full description of a karyotype may include the number, type, shape and banding of the chromosomes, as well as other cytogenetic information.

 

DNA Research
 

mtDNA sequence analysis is a valuable tool for determining whether individuals are biologically related through their mothers’ side of the family. For this reason, it is commonly referred to as a maternal lineage test.

 

Osteology
 

Osteology is thescientific study of bones. A subdiscipline of anthropology(US) archeology(EU), osteology is a detailed study of the structure of bones, skeletal elements, teeth, morphology, function,disease, pathology, the process of ossification (from cartilaginous molds), the resistance and hardness of bones (biophisics), etc.

 

Nomenclature
 

The adoption of a system of binomial nomenclature is due to Swedish botanist and physician Carl Linnaeus (1707 – 1778) who attempted to describe the entire known natural world and gave every species of mineral, plant or animal a two-part name. However, binomial nomenclature in various forms existed before Linnaeus, and was used by the Bauhins, who lived nearly two hundred years before Linnaeus. Before Linnaeus, hardly anybody used binomial nomenclature. After Linnaeus, almost everybody did.