| Alien Taxonomy |  |
In the year 2525:
Humans, after hundreds of years of constant effort, have successfully polluted all bodies of water on Earth. As a result, almost all previously known species of plants, animals, and other life forms have become extinct. Through natural selection, genetic engineering, and selective breeding programs, a portion of the Earth has been successfully repopulated. The following organisms are all that remain:
- Photosynthetic humanoids with green chlorophyll-containing hair (autotrophs)
- Chemosynthetic dolphin-like organisms who derive their energy for food production from the contaminants in the water (autotrophs)
- Aquatic humanoids who work on the dolphin’s aquaculture farms (heterotrophic)
- Aqua wheat, a heterotrophic crop grown by the dolphins that feeds on bacteria
- Legless, photosynthetic humanoid space travelers with arm-like tentacles that visit the Earth every 6 weeks
- Anaerobic humanoids designed for space living, but when on Earth for space training, they must wear deoxygenated space suits (heterotrophs)
- Cockroach-like organisms that feed on humanoid and dolphin excrement (Decomposers)
- Heterotrophic giant squids that feed on humanoids & dolphins
- Green-skinned, photosynthetic rats
- Parasitic mosquitoes that feed on humanoids
Your Assignment:
As an alien taxonomist, it is your responsibility to classify these existing organisms.
- Create Latin-sounding Genus and species names for each organism. Remember that the species name should reflect a characteristic of the organism.
- Create a taxonomic scheme for each organism including a kingdom, phylum, and the genus and species name you created. Use only two kingdoms that you create. Be sure to also include the number of the organism with the scheme
- Illustrate your interpretation of each organism’s appearance including all the characteristics given to you. All illustrations should be numbered and colored on a single sheet of unlined paper.
- Prepare a dichotomous key using the scientific names for these organisms so that your fellow aliens can also identify them when they come to Earth for summer vacations.
- Make a cover sheet with your name, date, and period and paper clip your sheets together.
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