Test: The Living World

• Botanical gardens and zoological parks are specialised places where living plants are grown and living animals are kept (where they can reproduce too) respectively.
• Both, endemic (local) as well as exotic (foreign to that place) species are kept in these places. They can be used for scientific studies.
• Botanical garden at Kew, England and National Zoological Park, Delhi are some famous examples.

The universal rules of nomenclature are as follows:

• Biological names are in Latin and are written in italics.
• The first word in the name indicates the genus, while the second word denotes its specific epithet.
• When the name is handwritten, both the words are separately underlined. When printed, the name is in italics.
• The first letter of the first word is always written in capital, while the first letter of the specific epithet, i.e. the second word, is a small letter.

Examples: Homo sapiens, Mangifera indica

Genus comprises a group of related species. Family has a group of related genera, order has a group of related family. Hence, the correct option is Phylum.

ICBN stands for International Code for Botanical Nomenclature that frames rules for nomenclature of plants applicable all over the world.

Herbarium is a store house of collected plant specimens that are dried, pressed and preserved on sheets. Hence, the correct option is Collection of dried plant specimens.

Animal taxonomists have evolved International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN). Hence, the correct option is International code of zoological nomenclature.

The five kingdom classification is based on :

► Cell structure
► Mode of nutrition
► Reproduction and
► Phylogenetic relationships.

Only mode of nutrition is given in the options, therefore the correct answer is option (b)

The basic unit of classification is species. Species are population of organisms that can inter breed among themselves to produce new organisms.

The correct hierarchy of classification of various taxons in descending order is given by :

► Kingdom → Phylum → Class → Order → Family → Genus → Species

The kingdom is the highest taxon with the least similar characters shared between its various members while species is the lowest level with almost similar morphological and behavioral similarities. Species is followed by Genus with slightly fewer similarities among its members.
So, the correct answer is 'Species'

• Originally conceptualized and set up as the National Botanic Gardens (NBG) by Professor Kailas Nath Kaul on behalf of the State Government of Uttar Pradesh, it was taken over by the CSIR in 1953. Dr. Triloki Nath Khoshoo joined in 1964 as the Assistant Director, shortly afterward becoming the Director.
• Initially engaged in research work in the classical botanical disciplines, the NBG went on laying an increasing emphasis in keeping with the national needs and priorities in the field of plant sciences, on its applied and developmental research activities.
• Due to the untiring efforts of Dr. Khoshoo, the institute rose to the stature of being the National Botanical Research Institute in 1978, reflecting the correct nature and extent of its aims and objectives, functions and R & D activities.
• Sikandar Bagh is a famous and historic pleasure garden, located in the grounds of the Institute.
• The National Botanical Research Institute (NBRI) is a research institute of CSIR in Lucknow. It is engaged in the field of taxonomy and modern biology.

So the correct option is 'Lucknow'.

The first word in a biological name represents the genus while the second component denotes the specific epithet. Hence, the correct option is Two.

Born on 5 July 1904, in Kempten, Germany, ERNST MAYR, the Harvard University evolutionary biologist who has been called ‘The Darwin of the 20th century’, was one of the 100 greatest scientists of all time.

Family is a group of genera having some common properties. So, related genera belongs to the same family.

• Cladistics is a method in which the organisms are classified using different criteria.
• The organisms are compared on the basis of the evolution, history and the relationship between them.
• The genetic relation help in identifying the ancestors.
• This method (Cladistics) helps in classification of the organism on the basis of comparison with the other organisms.
• The tree which shows the relationship between the organisms is known as the cladogram. 
  
   

Fig: Cladogram

Thus, the correct answer is option D

• Manual is handy book containing instructions as to occurrence, collection and identification of species found in a particular area.
• The scientist has to study the morphological and anatomical characters of the plant parts, compare the characteristic features with the similar information available in the scientific literature and after that he can decide the exact systematic position of the plant, name it according to the rules of binomial nomenclature and fix it’s systemic position.

• Mangifera indica Linn is the scientific name for mango.
• The Linn is the abbreviation which is used for the scientist who named it, Carolus Linnaeus, whenever such abbreviation is used after the scientific name then it always shows the name of the scientist who named it.
• Mangifera represents the genus and indicia represent the species.

• Classes comprising animals like fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds along with mammals constitute the next higher category called Phylum. All these classes are included in the phylum chordata.
• In case of plants, classes with a few similar characters are assigned to a higher category called Division.

• There is no suffix for genus and species.
• Family is a taxonomic category between the division and order.
• It includes one or more genera. Its suffix is 'aceae'. For example, Solanaceae.
• In case of vascular plants order ends with suffix 'ales' ​

Hence, the correct option is Family.

• Taxonomy is a ‘branch of science’ that deals with arrangement of organisms into taxa based on their characteristics and behavioural changes.  
• Each organism is given a separate taxonomic rank and is put under the categories such as ‘phylum’ (division is sometimes used in ‘botany in place of phylum’), kingdom, class, family, genus, order, and species.

The term key refers to a set of alternate characters in such a manner that helps in the identification of plants and animals by selecting and eliminating the characters according to their presence or absence in the organism. Different categories use different keys. Each statement in the key is called lead. For example key for identification of animals are as follows:

• Ear wings and mammary glands are present –  bat.
• Beak, feathers, wings are present  —  birds.
• Mammary glands, pinna. and scales are absent.  Limbs and slimy skin is present – Frog.