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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 A kingdom contains one or more phyla. In biological Taxonomy, a kingdom or regnum is a Taxonomic rank in either (historically the highest rank or (in the new three-domain system Intermediate minor rankings are not shown.

In biological taxonomy, a 'phylum' plural: Φῦλα phyla) is a taxonomic rank at the level below Kingdom and above Class. 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 Plural is a Grammatical number, typically referring to more than one of the Referent in the real world Taxonomic rank ( rank, category, taxonomic category is an abstract term used in the Scientific classification, or Taxonomy, of organisms In biological Taxonomy, a kingdom or regnum is a Taxonomic rank in either (historically the highest rank or (in the new three-domain system A class is the Taxonomic rank in the Biological classification of organisms in Biology below phylum and above order. "Phylum" is adopted from the Greek φυλαί phylai, the clan-based voting groups in Greek city-states. Phyla represent the largest generally accepted groupings of animals and other living things with certain evolutionary traits, although the phyla themselves may sometimes be grouped into superphyla (e. eVolution is the third Album by eLDee, it was due to be released in 2008 A trait is a distinct phenotypic character of an organism that may be inherited environmentally determined or somewhere in between g. Ecdysozoa with eight phyla, including arthropods and roundworms; and Deuterostomia with the echinoderms, chordates, hemichordates and xenoturbellae). The Ecdysozoa (ˌɛkdɪsəˈzoʊə are a grouping of Protostome animals including the Arthropoda ( Insects, Chelicerata, Crustaceans Arthropods are Animals belonging to the Phylum Arthropoda (from Greek ἄρθρον arthron, " Joint " The nematodes or roundworms ( Phylum Nematoda from Greek (nema "thread" + -ode "like" are one of the most common Deuterostomes (taxonomic term Deuterostomia; from the Greek "second mouth" are a superphylum of Animals They are a subtaxon of the Echinoderms (Phylum Echinodermata) are a phylum of marine Animals (including Sea stars) Chordates ( Phylum Chordata) are a group of Animals that includes the Vertebrates together with several closely related Invertebrates Hemichordata is a phylum of worm-shaped marine Deuterostome Animals generally considered the sister group of the Echinoderms They date Xenoturbella is a Genus of Bilaterian animals it contains two marine Worm -like species Informally, phyla can be thought of as grouping animals based on general body plan;^[1] this is morphological grouping. A body plan, or bauplan, is essentially the blueprint for the way the body of an organism is laid out Comparative anatomy is the study of similarities and differences in the Anatomy of Organisms It is closely related to Evolutionary biology and Phylogeny Thus despite the seemingly different external appearances of organisms, they are classified into phyla based on their internal organizations. ^[2] For example, though seemingly divergent, spiders and crabs both belong to Arthropoda, whereas earthworms and tapeworms, similar in shape, are from Annelida and Platyhelminthes, respectively. Spiders are Predatory Invertebrate Animals that have two body segments, eight legs no chewing mouth parts and no wings Crabs are decapod Crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, which typically have a very short projecting "tail" (βραχύ / brachy Arthropods are Animals belonging to the Phylum Arthropoda (from Greek ἄρθρον arthron, " Joint " Earthworm is the usual name for the largest members of Oligochaeta (which is either a class or subclass depending on the author in the phylum Annelida In classical Tapeworm is also an older name for a type of Computer virus. Cestoda is a class of Parasitic Flatworms commonly called The annelids, collectively called Annelida (from Latin anellus "little ring" are a large phylum of Animals comprising The flatworms (Phylum Platyhelminthes from the Greek πλατύ platy, meaning "flat" and ἕλμινς (root ἑλμινθ- helminth- Although the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature allows the use of the term "Phylum" in reference to plants, the term "Division" is almost always used by botanists. The International Code of Botanical Nomenclature ( ICBN) is the set of rules and recommendations dealing with the formal Botanical names that are given to Plants are living Organisms belonging to the kingdom Plantae.

The best known animal phyla are the Mollusca, Porifera, Cnidaria, Platyhelminthes, Nematoda, Annelida, Arthropoda, Echinodermata, and Chordata, the phylum to which humans belong. Molluscs are animals belonging to the phylum Mollusca. There are around 250000 extant Species within the phylum with an estimated 70000 The sponges or poriferans (from Latin porus "pore" and ferre "to bear" are Animals Cnidaria (naɪˈdɛəriə is a phylum containing some 9000 Species of Animals found exclusively in aquatic mostly marine, environments The flatworms (Phylum Platyhelminthes from the Greek πλατύ platy, meaning "flat" and ἕλμινς (root ἑλμινθ- helminth- The nematodes or roundworms ( Phylum Nematoda from Greek (nema "thread" + -ode "like" are one of the most common The annelids, collectively called Annelida (from Latin anellus "little ring" are a large phylum of Animals comprising Arthropods are Animals belonging to the Phylum Arthropoda (from Greek ἄρθρον arthron, " Joint " Echinoderms (Phylum Echinodermata) are a phylum of marine Animals (including Sea stars) Chordates ( Phylum Chordata) are a group of Animals that includes the Vertebrates together with several closely related Invertebrates Although there are approximately 35 phyla, these nine include the majority of the species. Many phyla are exclusively marine, and only one phylum is entirely absent from the world's oceans: the Onychophora or velvet worms. An ocean (from Greek, ''Okeanos'' (Oceanus) is a major body of saline water, and a principal component of the Hydrosphere. The velvet worms ( Onychophora — literally "claw bearers" form a Clade within the Ecdysozoa and can be simply described as " Worms The most recently discovered phylum is Cycliophora^[3] found in 1993; only three phyla were discovered in the last century. Symbion is the name of a Genus of aquatic animals less than ½ mm wide found living attached to the bodies of cold-water lobsters

The Cambrian explosion was a great flowering of life forms that occurred between roughly 530 and 520 million years ago;^[4] during this time organisms similar to, but not strictly members of, modern phyla existed;^[5] whilst some appear to be represented in the Ediacaran biota, it remains a matter of debate whether all phyla existed prior to the explosion. The Cambrian explosion or Cambrian radiation was the seemingly rapid appearance of most major groups of complex Animals around, as evidenced by the The Ediacara (ˌiːdɪˈækərə formerly Vendian) biota are ancient lifeforms of the Ediacaran Period which represent the earliest known complex Over time the roles among different phyla have varied. For instance, during the Cambrian, the dominant megafauna, or large animals, were arthropods, whereas now the megafauna is dominated by vertebrates (chordata). Megafauna are species of large Animals ( Greek μεγας large + modern Latin fauna animal ^[6] The arthropods are still by far the most dominant phylum.

List of animal phyla

Groups formerly ranked as phyla

List of plant divisions

List of fungi divisions

See also

• Cladistics
• Phylogenetics
• Systematics
• Taxonomy

References

1. ^ Valentine, James W. This is an article about the non-vascular plants The name Hornwort is also often applied to an aquatic plant Ceratophyllum demersum in the family Ceratophyllaceae All land plants and some Algae, have life cycles in which a haploid Gametophyte generation alternates with a Diploid sporophyte, the generation of a Mosses are small soft Plants that are typically 1–10  cm (0 All land plants and some Algae, have life cycles in which a haploid Gametophyte generation alternates with a Diploid sporophyte, the generation of a The Marchantiophyta are a division of Bryophyte Plants commonly referred to as hepatics or liverworts. All land plants and some Algae, have life cycles in which a haploid Gametophyte generation alternates with a Diploid sporophyte, the generation of a The Division Lycopodiophyta (sometimes called Lycophyta) is a tracheophyte subdivision of the Kingdom Plantae It is the oldest extant (living terminology of fossil plants is in places a little confusing In the discipline's 200+ year history certain concepts have become entrenched even though improved understanding has threatened the In Botany, a leaf is an above-ground Plant organ specialized for Photosynthesis. A fern is any one of a group of about 20000 Species of Plants classified in the phylum or division Pteridophyta, also known as Filicophyta A prothallium, or prothallus (from Latin pro = forwards and Greek θαλλος ( thallos) = twig is usually a In Plants and Algae that undergo Alternation of generations, a gametophyte is the multicellular structure or phase that is Haploid, containing Pteridospermatophyta, also called seed ferns, is an extinct Spermatophyte group of the Plantae kingdom. The Devonian is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic era spanning from to  million years ago. Cycads are a group of Seed plants characterized by a large crown of compound leaves and a stout trunk. The Ginkgoaceae is a family of Gymnosperms which appeared during the Mesozoic Era of which the only extant representative is Ginkgo biloba The Plant division Gnetophyta or gnetophytes comprise three related families of Woody plants grouped in the Gymnosperms The gnetophytes differ from The flowering plants or angiosperms ( Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta) are the most widespread group The flowering plants or angiosperms ( Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta) are the most widespread group Chytridiomycota is a Division of the Fungi kingdom. The name refers to the chytridium (from the Greek Zygomycota, or zygote fungi are a Phylum of fungi. The name of the phylum comes from zygosporangia, where resistant spherical spores are formed during A gametangium (plural gametangia is an organ or cell in which Gametes are produced that is found in many multicellular Protists Algae Glomeromycota (informally glomeromycetes) is one of seven currently recognized phyla within the kingdom Fungi, with approximately 200 described species An arbuscular mycorrhiza (plural mycorrhizae or mycorrhizas) is a type of Mycorrhiza in which the Fungus penetrates the cortical cells of the Ascomycota is a Division / Phylum of Fungi, and subkingdom Dikarya, whose members are commonly known as the Sac Fungi. ascusgif|thumb|right|Ascus of Saccharomyces cerevisiae containing a tetrad of four spores]]An ascus (plural asci) is the sexual spore-bearing cell produced in Basidiomycota is one of two large phyla that together with the Ascomycota, comprise the subkingdom Dikarya, which were in general what were called A basidium (pl basidia) is a microscopic spore-producing structure found on the Hymenophore of fruiting bodies of basidiomycete fungi Cladistics is the hierarchical classification of Species based on evolutionary ancestry 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 Taxonomy is the practice and science of classification The word comes from the Greek, taxis (meaning 'order' 'arrangement' and, nomos (2004). On the Origin of Phyla. Chicago: University Of Chicago Press, 7. 0226845486.  "Classifications of organisms in hierarchical systems were in use by the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. usually organisms were grouped according to their morphological similarities as perceived by those early workers, and those groups were then grouped according to their similarities, and so on, to form a hierarchy. "
2. ^ Parker, Andrew (2003). In the blink of an eye: How vision kick-started the big bang of evolution. Sydney: Free Press, 1–4. 0743257332.  "The job of an evolutionary biologist is to make sense of the conflicting diversity of form – there is not always a relationship between internal and external parts. Early in the history of the subject, it became obvious that internal organisations were generally more important to the higher classification of animals than are external shapes. The internal organisation puts general restrictions on how an animal can exchange gases, obtain nutrients and reproduce. "
3. ^ "…when a new animal species is discovered, no matter how unusual, it can normally be classified into a known group of creatures with the same body plan or phylum. Although there are 1. 5 million plus known species in the world, they can all be classified into 35 or so phyla. These include the chordates (eg the vertebrates such as man), molluscs (snails) and arthropods (jointed limbed e. g. insects). However, S. pandora was so unusual that it could not be classified into any of the existing phyla, and a new one was suggested called Cycliophora" [1] (URL accessed on July 5, 2006)
4. ^ Valentine, J. Symbion is the name of a Genus of aquatic animals less than ½ mm wide found living attached to the bodies of cold-water lobsters Events 1295 - Scotland and France form an alliance the beginnings of the Auld Alliance, against England. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. W. ; Jablonski, D. ; Erwin, D. H. (1999-03-01). Year 1999 ( MCMXCIX) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1999 Gregorian calendar) Events 86 BC - Lucius Cornelius Sulla, at the head of a Roman Republic army enters in Athens, removing the Tyrant "Fossils, molecules and embryos: new perspectives on the Cambrian explosion". Development 126: 851–859.  
5. ^ Budd, G. E. ; Jensen, S. (2000). "A critical reappraisal of the fossil record of the bilaterian phyla". Biological Reviews 75 (02): 253–295. doi:10.1017/S000632310000548X. A digital object identifier ( DOI) is a permanent identifier given to an Electronic document.  
6. ^ "The Cambrian Explosion … The organisms range from the prokaryotic cyanobacteria to eukaryotic green and red algae, to sponges, brachiopods, priapulids, annelids, and many different arthropod groups, as well as echinoderms and possibly one of the first chordates. Cyanobacteria, also known as blue-green algae, blue-green bacteria or Cyanophyta, is a phylum of Bacteria that obtain their energy Algae ( sing. alga are a large and diverse group of simple typically Autotrophic organisms ranging from Unicellular to Multicellular forms The sponges or poriferans (from Latin porus "pore" and ferre "to bear" are Animals Brachiopods (from Latin brachium, arm + New Latin -poda, foot are a small phylum of Benthic Invertebrates Also Priapulida ( priapulid worms or penis worms, from Gr πριάπος priāpos ' Priapus ' + Lat The annelids, collectively called Annelida (from Latin anellus "little ring" are a large phylum of Animals comprising Arthropods are Animals belonging to the Phylum Arthropoda (from Greek ἄρθρον arthron, " Joint " Echinoderms (Phylum Echinodermata) are a phylum of marine Animals (including Sea stars) Chordates ( Phylum Chordata) are a group of Animals that includes the Vertebrates together with several closely related Invertebrates " [2] (URL accessed on July 5, 2006)
7. ^ Feldkamp, S. Events 1295 - Scotland and France form an alliance the beginnings of the Auld Alliance, against England. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. (2002) Modern Biology. Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, USA. (pp. 725)
8. ^ Species Register. Flatworms — Phylum Platyhelminthes. Marine Discovery Centres. Retrieved on 2007-04-09. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 193 - Septimius Severus is proclaimed Roman Emperor by the army in Illyricum (in the Balkans)
9. ^ "Kingdon Plantae Tree of Life"

External links

• Major Phyla Of Animals
• Are phyla "real"? Is there really a well-defined "number of animal phyla" extant and in the fossil record?

Etymology:

• American Heritage Dictionary: New Latin phylum, from Greek phūlon, class. Etymology is the study of the History of Words &mdash when they entered a language from what source and how their form and meaning have changed over time
• Online Etymological Dictionary: from Gk. phylon "race, stock," related to phyle "tribe, clan," and phylein "bring forth" of physikos "pertaining to nature," from physis "nature"