MediumBiologyHigh School (11–12)Diversity of Living Organisms › Taxonomic Hierarchy and AidsDiversity of Living Organisms › Classification of Living OrganismsConceptual
A plains zebra ( Equus quagga ) and a donkey ( Equus asinus ) can mate in a zoo, and their young, a…
Contributed by StemPy LabTry it on paper first. A hint, the key idea and the worked solution are here when you need them.
A plains zebra (Equus quagga) and a donkey (Equus asinus) can mate in a zoo, and their young, a zonkey, is healthy but sterile. Are the zebra and the donkey one species? What does the second word of each name tell us, and what does the first word tell us?
Need a reminder? The key ideaShow
The ranks from the smallest: species, genus, family, order, class, phylum (division in plants) and kingdom. A group at any rank is a taxon. Going up, a group holds more organisms that share fewer features. A species is a group with fundamental similarities, whose members can breed and have fertile young.
The worked solution
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Work it out on paper first. It is fine to get stuck or make a mistake: that is how we learn. When you are ready, go through the solution one step at a time, and check each step against your own.
Step 1. Species. Their young is sterile, so the zebra and the donkey are two species.
Step 2. The second word. quagga and asinus are the specific epithets: they name the two species.
Step 3. The first word. Equus is the genus: they are close relatives in one genus.
Answer: two species of the same genus, Equus.
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