Family (biology) - Citizendia

The hierarchy of biological classification's major eight taxonomic ranks. Taxonomic rank ( rank, category, taxonomic category is an abstract term used in the Scientific classification, or Taxonomy, of organisms An order contains one or more families. This article is about the taxonomic rank for the sequence of species in a taxonomic list see Taxonomic order In scientific classification used Intermediate minor rankings are not shown.

Subfamily redirects here.

In biological classification, family (Latin: familia, plural familiae) is a taxonomic rank. Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Taxonomic rank ( rank, category, taxonomic category is an abstract term used in the Scientific classification, or Taxonomy, of organisms Exact details of formal nomenclature depend on the Nomenclature Code which applies. The Nomenclature Codes (or the " Codes of nomenclature") are the rulebooks that govern biological nomenclature

Example: "Walnuts and Hickories belong to the Walnut family" is a brief way of saying: the Walnuts (genus Juglans) and the Hickories (genus Carya) belong to the Walnut family (family Juglandaceae). Walnuts (genus Juglans) are Plants in the family Juglandaceae. Trees in the genus Carya (from Ancient Greek κάρυον " Nut " are commonly known as Hickory. The Juglandaceae, also known as the Walnut Family is a family of Trees or sometimes shrubs in the order Fagales

History of the concept

Family, as a rank intermediate between order and genus, is a relatively recent invention. This article is about the taxonomic rank for the sequence of species in a taxonomic list see Taxonomic order In scientific classification used A genus (plural genera from Γένος Latin genus "descent family type gender" is a low-level Taxonomic

The term familial was coined by French botanist Pierre Magnol in his Prodromus historiae generalis plantarum, in quo familiae plantarum per tabulas disponuntur (1689) where he called families (familiae) the seventy-six groups of plants he recognised in his tables. Pierre Magnol ( June 8, 1638 - May 21, 1715) was a French Botanist. The concept of rank at that time was still in statu nascendi, and in the preface to the Prodromus Magnol spoke of uniting his families into larger genera, which is far from how the term is used today.

Since the beginning of the 20th century, however, the term has been consistently used in its modern sense. Its usage and characteristic ending of the names belonging to this category are defined in the Codes of botanical and zoological nomenclature. The International Code of Botanical Nomenclature ( ICBN) is the set of rules and recommendations dealing with the formal Botanical names that are given to The International Code of Zoological Nomenclature is a set of rules in Zoology that have one fundamental aim to provide the maximum universality and continuity in the naming

Almost all families are named for a type genus, and are formed by adding the ending -idae (animals) or -aceae (plants) to the stem of the genus name. Exceptions are:

Caprifoliaceae, Aquifoliaceae, and Fabaceae, named for their type species Lonicera caprifolium, Ilex aquifolia, and Vicia faba. The Caprifoliaceae or honeysuckle family is a Clade consisting of about 800 Dicotyledonous Flowering plants with a nearly Cosmopolitan Holly ( Ilex) is a Genus of about 600 Species of Flowering plants in the family Aquifoliaceae, and the only Fabaceae or Leguminosae is a large and economically important family of Flowering plants which is commonly known as the legume family, pea
Theaceae, named for Thea, a synonym of Camellia. The Theaceae is a Family of Flowering plants composed of shrubs and trees
Eight families of plants with alternate names. Fabaceae is also called Leguminosae, Poaceae Gramineae, etc. Poaceae or Gramineae is a family in the Class Liliopsida of the flowering plants.
Elapidae. The Elapidae, or elapids are a Family of venomous snakes found in tropical and subtropical regions around the world including the Indian Ocean and The type genus is Homoroselaps, which was originally named Elaps but was temporarily moved to a different family and the name changed as a result.

Systematics - the study of the diversity of life
Cladistics - the classification of organisms by their order of branching in an evolutionary tree
List of families - list of family names in the taxonomy of biology
Phylogenetics - the study of evolutionary relatedness among various groups of organisms
Taxonomy
Compare Family
Virus classification
protein family
gene family

Biological systematics is the study of the diversity of Life on the planet Earth both past and present and the relationships among living things through time Life is a state that distinguishes Organisms from non-living objects such as non-life and dead organisms being manifested by growth through Metabolism Cladistics is the hierarchical classification of Species based on evolutionary ancestry This is a list of families used in Scientific classification. Taxonomy is the practice and science of classification The word comes from the Greek, taxis (meaning 'order' 'arrangement' and, nomos Foundations of modern biology There are five unifying principles Taxonomy is the practice and science of classification The word comes from the Greek, taxis (meaning 'order' 'arrangement' and, nomos Family denotes a group of People affiliated by consanguinity affinity or co-residence Virus classification involves naming and placing Viruses into a taxonomic system A protein family is a group of Evolutionarily related Proteins and is often nearly synonymous with Gene family. A gene family is a set of Genes with a known homology. They are generally biochemically similar

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History of the concept

See also