Identification keyIn biology, an identification key, taxonomic key, or frequently just key, is a printed or computer-aided device that aids in the identification of biological organisms. Historically, the most common type of identification key is the dichotomous key, a type of single-access key which offers a fixed sequence of identification steps, each with two alternatives.
Taxonomy (biology)In biology, taxonomy (from Ancient Greek (taxis)'arrangement' and ()'method') is the scientific study of naming, defining (circumscribing) and classifying groups of biological organisms based on shared characteristics. Modern approaches prioritize common ancestry and evolutionary relationships.
SpeciesBasic unit of taxonomic classification, below genusThe hierarchy of biological classification's eight major taxonomic ranks. A genus contains one or more species. Minor intermediate ranks are not shown.A species (pl. species) is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity.Reticulation (single-access key)In biology, a reticulation of a single-access identification key connects different branches of the identification tree to improve error tolerance and identification success. In a reticulated key, multiple paths lead to the same result; the tree data structure thus changes from a simple tree to a directed acyclic graph. Two forms of reticulation can be distinguished: Terminal reticulation and inner reticulation.Branching identification keyA branching identification key within taxonomy (the practice and science of categorization or classification), is a presentation form of a single-access key where the structure of the decision tree is displayed graphically as a branching structure, involving lines between items. Depending on the number of branches at a single point, a branching key may be dichotomous or polytomous.
Field guideA field guide is a book designed to help the reader identify wildlife (flora or fauna or funga) or other objects of natural occurrence (e.g. rocks and minerals). It is generally designed to be brought into the "field" or local area where such objects exist to help distinguish between similar objects. Field guides are often designed to help users distinguish animals and plants that may be similar in appearance but are not necessarily closely related.
Binomial nomenclatureIn taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin grammatical forms, although they can be based on words from other languages. Such a name is called a binomial name (often shortened to just "binomial"), a binomen, binominal name, or a scientific name; more informally, it is also called a Latin name.
Decision treeA decision tree is a decision support recursive partitioning structure that uses a tree-likemodel of decisions and their possible consequences, including chance event outcomes, resource costs, and utility. It is one way to display an algorithm that only contains conditional control statements.
Binary search treeIn computer science, a binary search tree (BST), also called an ordered or sorted binary tree, is a rootedbinary treedata structure with the key of each internal node being greater than all the keys in the respective node's left subtree and less than the ones in its right subtree. The time complexity of operations on the binary search tree is linear with respect to the height of the tree.
Directed acyclic graphIn mathematics, particularly graph theory, and computer science, a directed acyclic graph (DAG) is a directed graph with no directed cycles. That is, it consists of vertices and edges (also called arcs), with each edge directed from one vertex to another, such that following those directions will never form a closed loop.
TaxonomyGeneralized scheme of taxonomy Taxonomy is a practice and science concerned with classification or categorization. Typically, there are two parts to it: the development of an underlying scheme of classes (a taxonomy) and the allocation of things to the classes (classification). Originally, taxonomy referred only to the classification of organisms on the basis of shared characteristics. Today it also has a more general sense.
Infraspecific nameIn botany, an infraspecific name is the scientific name for any taxon below the rank of species, i.e. an infraspecific taxon or infraspecies. The scientific names of botanical taxa are regulated by the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants (ICN). As specified by the ICN, the name of an infraspecific taxon is a combination of the name of a species and an infraspecific epithet, separated by a connecting term that denotes the rank of the taxon.*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.