Taxonomy mnemonics are used to memorize the scientific classification applied in taxonomy. They are usually constructed with a series of words that begin with the letters KPCOFGS, corresponding to the initials of the primary taxonomic ranks. Words beginning with D (corresponding to domain) are sometimes added to the beginning of the sequence, and words beginning with S (corresponding to subspecies) are sometimes added at the end of the sequence.
For example, King Phillip Came Over For Good Spaghetti[1] has the first letter of each word corresponding in order to the first letter of the descending order of scientific classification.
| Mnemonic | Zoology term | |
|---|---|---|
| King | Kingdom | |
| Phillip | Phylum | |
| Came | Class | |
| Over | Order | |
| For | Family | |
| Good | Genus | |
| Spaghetti | Species |
Zoology mnemonics, which are used to memorize the scientific taxonomic classification system, include:
Botanical taxonomy uses the rank of division in place of phylum. Some botany mnemonics follow one of the "King Phillip" variants, with David in place of Phillip.