Taxonomy is another scientific name that comes from 2 different words. Only this time the 2 words come from the Greek language instead of the Latin language. If you look into the history books you will find that the Greek civilization existed before the Roman civilization. The Greeks were so smart that the Romans borrowed many ideas from them including some of their words.

Tax in the Greek language is called taxis which means arrangement. -Onomy comes from the Greek word nomos which means law. Therefore, taxonomy means the law of arranging organisms. A law basically describes how things should be done. A taxonomy tells us how to arrange things like plants and animals.

This scientific naming system was perfected by Carl von Linne, pictured on this page, in the mid-1700's. Carl was so excited by his system that he changed his name to Carolus Linneaus. Below is an introduction to his naming system.

All organisms are divided up into the following 5 kingdoms:

Animalia (Animals) - This kingdom includes mammals, amphibians, fish, insects, reptiles, crustaceans, birds    

Plantae (Plants) - This kingdom includes flowers, trees, ferns, vines, grass, broccoli, spinach, and many other wonderful species. 

Fungi (Fungus) - This kingdom includes mushrooms, liverworts, and puffballs.

Protista (Protists) - This kingdom includes amoebas, paramecium, and seaweed.

Monera (Monerans) - This kingdom includes bacteria and algae.