Humans have been classified by taxonomists according to the following
taxonomic groupings:
TAXONOMIC GROUP
NAME OF GROUP
CHARACTERISTICS COMMON TO THE GROUP
Kingdom
Animalia
Heterophic
Cells lack cell walls
Phylum
Chordata
Dorsal nerve cord
Sub-phylum
Vertebrate
Backbone
Class
Mammalia
Mammary glands
Hair or fur
Order
Primate (E.g.. Lemurs, tarsiers, New World monkeys, Old World monkeys,
apes, chimpanzees)
Forward-directed eyes; stereoscopic vision
Grasping hand with opposable thumb (some with opposable toes).
Flat nails (not claws).
2 nipples
Large brain compared with body size
3 bones in the middle ear.
Typically have 4 upper and 4 lower incisors.
Sub-order
Anthropoid (monkeys, apes, humans)
Grasping hands and feet
Well developed eyesight; most have colour vision
Reduced sense of smell
Family
Hominid (hominoids= apes and humans)
No tail
Upright gait
Arms shorter than legs
Genus
Homo
Foramen magnum directed downwards.
Bipedal.
Flat face.
Large skull capacity
Development of tool technology, culture
Species
Homo sapiens sapiens
Very large cerebral cortex
Huge capacity to learn, increased mental ability, rational thought
Well developed speech
Culture
