taxonomic group

extinct small mostly diurnal lower primates that fed on leaves and fruit; abundant in North America and Europe 30 to 50 million years ago; their descendents probably include the lemurs; some authorities consider them ancestral to anthropoids but others consider them only cousins

extinct tiny nocturnal lower primates that fed on fruit and insects; abundant in North America and Europe 30 to 50 million years ago; probably gave rise to the tarsiers; some authorities consider them ancestral to anthropoids but others consider them only cousins

the highest taxonomic group into which organisms are grouped; one of five biological categories: Monera or Protoctista or Plantae or Fungi or Animalia

(biology) a taxonomic group comprising a major division of a kingdom

(biology) a taxonomic category consisting of members of a species that differ from others of the same species in minor but heritable characteristics

(biology) the major taxonomic group of animals and plants; contains classes

(biology) a taxonomic group ranking between a phylum and a class

(biology) a taxonomic group ranking between a phylum and below a class or subclass

(biology) a taxonomic group containing one or more orders

(biology) a taxonomic category below a class and above an order

(biology) a taxonomic class below a phylum and above a class

(biology) taxonomic group containing one or more families

(biology) taxonomic group that is a subdivision of an order

(biology) a taxonomic group ranking above an order and below a class or subclass

(biology) a taxonomic group containing one or more genera

(biology) a taxonomic group ranking below an order but above a family

(biology) a taxonomic category below a family

(biology) a taxonomic category between a genus and a subfamily

(biology) taxonomic group containing one or more species

(biology) taxonomic group between a genus and a species

(biology) a taxonomic group with a single member (a single species or genus)

(biology) taxonomic group whose members can interbreed

(biology) a taxonomic group that is a division of a species; usually arises as a consequence of geographical isolation within a species

(biology) a group of organisms within a species that differ in trivial ways from similar groups

(biology) the taxonomic group whose characteristics are used to define the next higher taxon

used in some classification systems: a group of extinct fossil gymnosperms coextensive with the order Cycadofilicales

used in former classification systems; approximately synonymous with order Caryophyllales

used in some classification systems for plants that bear catkins

a large and probably unnatural group of fungi and funguslike organisms comprising the Mastigomycota (including the Oomycetes) and Zygomycota subdivisions of the division Eumycota; a category not used in all systems

taxonomic kingdom comprising all living or extinct animals

an artificial taxonomic category established on the basis of morphological resemblance for organisms of obscure true relationships especially fossil forms

a family of threadlike RNA viruses that cause diseases in humans and nonhuman primates (monkeys and chimpanzees)

prokaryotic bacteria and blue-green algae and various primitive pathogens; because of lack of consensus on how to divide the organisms into phyla informal names are used for the major divisions

the order of animals

the order of protoctists

a family of bacteria

a genus of bacteria

a species of bacteria

a former classification

photosynthetic bacteria found in fresh and salt water, having chlorophyll a and phycobilins; once thought to be algae: blue-green algae

in most modern classifications, replacement for the Protista; includes: Protozoa; Euglenophyta; Chlorophyta; Cryptophyta; Heterokontophyta; Rhodophyta; unicellular protists and their descendant multicellular organisms: regarded as distinct from plants and animals

any of the families of Protoctista

any genus of Protoctista

a division of lower plants comprising unicellular and biflagellate algae that form starchy compounds

in some classifications considered a superphylum or a subkingdom; comprises flagellates; ciliates; sporozoans; amoebas; foraminifers

characterized by the formation of pseudopods for locomotion and taking food: Actinopoda; Rhizopoda

heliozoans; radiolarians

creeping protozoans: amoebas and foraminifers

a large family of endoparasitic amebas that invade the digestive tract

class of protozoa having cilia or hairlike appendages on part or all of the surface during some part of the life cycle

in some recent classifications, coextensive with the Ciliata: minute organisms found in decomposing infusions of organic matter

all the yellow-green algae having flagella of unequal length

yellow-green algae

marine and freshwater eukaryotic algae: diatoms

brown algae; mostly marine and littoral eukaryotic algae

in more recent classifications superseded by the order Fucales

coextensive with the division Euglenophyta

algae distinguished chiefly by having flagella and a clear green color, their chlorophyll being masked little if at all by other pigments

alternative name for the class Chlorophyceae in some classifications

in some classifications: contains only the order Charales

coextensive with the Rhodophyta: red algae

protozoa having flagella

in some classifications considered a phylum of the kingdom Protista; holozoic or saprozoic flagellates

plantlike flagellates containing chlorophyll; often considered unicellular algae

a phylum in the kingdom Protoctista

motile usually brownish-green protozoa-like algae

strictly parasitic protozoans that are usually immobile; includes plasmodia and coccidia and piroplasms and malaria parasites

parasitic sporozoans that form spores containing one or more infective sporozoites

a subclass of Sporozoa

single-host parasites of lower vertebrates and invertebrates

any of various families of fish

any of various genus of fish

comprises true vertebrates and animals having a notochord

any family in the phylum Chordata

any genus in the phylum Chordata

lancelets

tunicates

sometimes classified as an order: sea squirts

small class of free-swimming tunicates; sometimes classified as an order

small free-swimming tunicates; sometimes classified as an order

fishes; amphibians; reptiles; birds; mammals

superclass of eel-shaped chordates lacking jaws and pelvic fins: lampreys; hagfishes; some extinct forms

comprising all vertebrates with upper and lower jaws

extinct group of bony-plated fishes with primitive jaws

cartilaginous fishes

chimaeras and extinct forms

sharks; rays; dogfishes; skates

(ornithology) the class of birds

a family of warm-blooded egg-laying vertebrates characterized by feathers and forelimbs modified as wings

a genus of birds

primitive reptile-like fossil birds of the Jurassic or early Cretaceous

the class of vertebrates that live on land but breed in water; frogs; toads; newts; salamanders; caecilians

any family of amphibians

any genus of amphibians

a family of reptiles

a genus of reptiles

class of cold-blooded air-breathing vertebrates with completely ossified skeleton and a body usually covered with scales or horny plates; once the dominant land animals

oldest known reptiles; turtles and extinct Permian forms

diapsid reptiles: lizards; snakes; tuataras

a large subclass of diapsid reptiles including: crocodiles; alligators; dinosaurs; pterosaurs; plesiosaurs; ichthyosaurs; thecodonts

extinct reptiles of the Permian to Jurassic considered ancestral to mammals

any of the arthropods

a genus of arthropods

jointed-foot invertebrates: arachnids; crustaceans; insects; millipedes; centipedes

spiders; scorpions; horseshoe crabs

a large class of arthropods including spiders and ticks and scorpions and daddy longlegs; have four pairs of walking legs and no wings

used in some classifications to encompass the millipedes (Diplopoda) and centipedes (Chilopoda); formerly a large taxon including also the Pauropoda and Symphyla; the term Myriapoda now usually used synonymously with Diplopoda and limited to the millipedes

an obscure class of minute arthropods with branched antennae and 8 to 10 pairs of legs

small class of minute arthropods; unimportant except for the garden centipede

in some classifications considered a separate phylum: microscopic arachnid-like invertebrates living in water or damp moss having 4 pairs of legs and instead of a mouth a pair of stylets or needlelike piercing organs connected with the pharynx

arthropods having the trunk composed of numerous somites each bearing one pair of legs: centipedes

arthropods having the body composed of numerous double somites each with two pairs of legs: millipedes

tongue worms

warm-blooded vertebrates characterized by mammary glands in the female

a family of mammals

a genus of mammals

echidnas; platypus

generalized extinct mammals widespread during the Jurassic; commonly conceded to be ancestral to marsupial and placental mammals

pouched animals

all mammals except monotremes and marsupials

multicellular organisms having less-specialized cells than in the Metazoa; comprises the single phylum Porifera

coextensive with the subkingdom Parazoa: sponges

a genus of Porifera

sponges with siliceous spicules that have six rays; choanocytes are restricted to finger-shaped chambers

a family of coelenterates

a genus of coelenterates

multicellular animals having cells differentiated into tissues and organs and usually a digestive cavity and nervous system

hydras; polyps; jellyfishes; sea anemones; corals

coelenterates in which the polyp stage is absent or at least inconspicuous: jellyfishes

coelenterates typically having alternation of generations; hydroid phase is usually colonial giving rise to the medusoid phase by budding: hydras and jellyfishes

a large class of sedentary marine coelenterates that includes sea anemones and corals; the medusoid phase is entirely suppressed

a family of ctenophores

a genus of ctenophores

comb jellies; sea acorns; a small phylum formerly considered a class of Coelenterata

ctenophores lacking tentacles; comprises one genus: beroe

ctenophores have retractile tentacles

a family of worms

a genus of worms

phylum or class of elongated wormlike parasites that live in the intestines of vertebrates: spiny-headed worms

arrowworms: a group of small active transparent marine worms

flatworms

free-living flatworms

parasitic flatworms (including flukes)

tapeworms

proboscis worms

beard worms

a phylum including: rotifers

unsegmented worms: roundworms; threadworms; eelworms

one of two subgroups of Nematoda used in some classification systems

one of two subgroups of Nematoda used in some classification systems

segmented worms: earthworms; lugworms; leeches

a class of Annelida

earthworms

marine annelid worms

hermaphroditic aquatic or terrestrial or parasitic annelids

a family of mollusks

a genus of mollusks

gastropods; bivalves; cephalopods; chitons

small class of bilaterally symmetrical marine forms comprising the tooth shells

snails and slugs and their relatives

gastropods having the gills when present posterior to the heart and having no operculum: includes sea slugs; sea butterflies; sea hares

a class of Gastropoda

small class of marine mollusks comprising the chitons; sometimes considered an order of the subclass Amphineura

oysters; clams; scallops; mussels

octopuses; squids; cuttlefish; pearly nautilus

comprising all living cephalopods except the family Nautilidae: the orders Octopoda (octopuses) and Decapoda (squids and cuttlefish)

class of mandibulate arthropods including: lobsters; crabs; shrimps; woodlice; barnacles; decapods; water fleas

largest subclass of Crustacea including most of the well-known marine, freshwater, and terrestrial crustaceans: crabs; lobsters; shrimps; sow bugs; beach flies

in some older classifications includes the Branchiopoda and Copepoda and Ostracoda and Cirripedia; no longer in technical use

primitive aquatic mainly freshwater crustaceans: fairy shrimps; brine shrimps; tadpole shrimps; can shrimps; water fleas

minute planktonic or parasitic crustaceans

seed shrimps

barnacles

enigmatic small elongated wormlike terrestrial invertebrates of damp dark habitats in warm regions; distinct from the phylum Annelida; resemble slugs with legs and are sometimes described as the missing link between arthropods and annelids

insects; about five-sixths of all known animal species

a family of insects of the order Mecoptera

a family of predacious tropical insects of the order Mecoptera

subclass of insects characterized by gradual and usually incomplete metamorphosis

small phylum of wormlike marine animals

marine or freshwater animals that form colonies of zooids

coextensive with or a subphylum of Bryozoa

sometimes considered a subphylum of Bryozoa

tiny marine organisms each the size of a period found in great numbers on lobsters' lips; identified tentatively in 1995 as a new phylum or as possible link between Entoprocta and Ectoprocta

marine invertebrates that resemble mollusks

peanut worms

a family of echinoderms

a genus of echinoderms

radially symmetrical marine invertebrates including e.g. starfish and sea urchins and sea cucumbers

sea stars

brittle stars and basket stars

brittle stars

basket stars

sea urchins and sand dollars

sea lilies

class of echinoderms including the sea cucumbers

term not used technically; essentially coextensive with genus Bos

anthropoid apes and human beings

snakeheads

a class of fish having a skeleton composed of bone in addition to cartilage

fishes having paired fins resembling limbs and regarded as ancestral to amphibians

bony fishes of the southern hemisphere that breathe by a modified air bladder as well as gills; sometimes classified as an order of Crossopterygii

large diverse group of bony fishes; includes most living species

a subfamily of the family Centropomidae

a special variety of domesticated animals within a species

(biology) an artificial taxonomic category for organisms of which the true relationships are obscure

(biology) genus from which the name of a family or subfamily is formed; it is not necessarily the most representative genus but often the largest or best known or earliest described

(biology) an artificial taxonomic category for organisms of which the true relationships are obscure

a species whose numbers are so small that the species is at risk of extinction

a species of fish

(biology) the species that best exemplifies the essential characteristics of the genus to which it belongs

(botany) taxonomic unit of plants corresponding to a phylum

(botany) the taxonomic kingdom comprising all living or extinct plants

the order of plants

a family of mosses

a genus of mosses

hornworts: in some classification systems included in the class Hepaticopsida

true mosses: bryophytes having leafy rather than thalloid gametophytes: comprises orders Andreaeales; Bryales; Dicranales; Eubryales; Sphagnales

liverworts: comprises orders Anthocerotales; Jungermanniales; Marchantiales; Sphaerocarpales

a genus of gymnosperms

family of flowering plants having a single cotyledon (embryonic leaf) in the seed

genus of flowering plants having a single cotyledon (embryonic leaf) in the seed

family of flowering plants having two cotyledons (embryonic leaves) in the seed which usually appear at germination

genus of flowering plants having two cotyledons (embryonic leaves) in the seed which usually appear at germination

includes lichen families

includes lichen genera

the order of fungi

plants having naked seeds not enclosed in an ovary; in some systems considered a class (Gymnospermae) and in others a division (Gymnospermophyta); comprises three subdivisions (or classes): Cycadophytina (class Cycadopsida) and Gnetophytina (class Gnetopsida) and Coniferophytina (class Coniferopsida); in some classifications the Coniferophytina are divided into three groups: Pinophytina (class Pinopsida) and Ginkgophytina (class Ginkgopsida) and Taxophytina (class Taxopsida)

gymnospermous flowering plants; supposed link between conifers and angiosperms; in some systems classified as a class (Gnetopsida) and in others as a subdivision (Gnetophytina or Gnetophyta)

palmlike gymnosperms: includes the surviving order Cycadales and several extinct orders; possibly not a natural group; in some systems considered a class (Cycadopsida) and in others a subdivision (Cycadophytina or Cycadophyta)

extinct gymnosperms most of Carboniferous to Jurassic: seed ferns and allies

cone-bearing gymnosperms dating from the Carboniferous period; most are substantial trees; includes the classes Pinopsida (subdivision Pinophytina) and Ginkgopsida (subdivision Ginkgophytina) and Taxopsida (subdivision Taxophytina) which in turn include the surviving orders Coniferales and Taxales (yews) and sometimes Ginkgoales as well as extinct orders such as Cordaitales (of the Carboniferous and Permian)

most conifers: in some systems classified as a class (Pinopsida) and in others as a subdivision (Pinophytina); used in some classifications for one of five subdivisions of Gymnospermophyta

yews: in some systems classified as a class (Taxopsida) and in others as a subdivision (Taxophytina) used in some classifications for one of five subdivisions of Gymnospermophyta

ginkgos: in some systems classified as a class and in others as a subdivision; used in some classifications for one of five subdivisions of Gymnospermophyta

comprising flowering plants that produce seeds enclosed in an ovary; in some systems considered a class (Angiospermae) and in others a division (Magnoliophyta or Anthophyta)

comprising seed plants that produce an embryo with paired cotyledons and net-veined leaves; divided into six (not always well distinguished) subclasses (or superorders): Magnoliidae and Hamamelidae (considered primitive); Caryophyllidae (an early and distinctive offshoot); and three more or less advanced groups: Dilleniidae; Rosidae; Asteridae

a group of families of trees and shrubs and herbs having well-developed perianths and apocarpous ovaries and generally regarded as the most primitive extant flowering plants; contains 36 families including Magnoliaceae and Ranunculaceae; sometimes classified as a superorder

comprising seed plants that produce an embryo with a single cotyledon and parallel-veined leaves: includes grasses and lilies and palms and orchids; divided into four subclasses or superorders: Alismatidae; Arecidae; Commelinidae; and Liliidae

one of four subclasses or superorders of Monocotyledones; comprises about 500 species in 14 families of aquatic and semiaquatic herbs

one of four subclasses or superorder of Monocotyledones; comprises about 6400 species in 5 families of trees and shrubs and terrestrial herbs and a few free-floating aquatics including: Palmae; Araceae; Pandanaceae and Lemnaceae

one of four subclasses or superorders of Monocotyledones; comprises about 19,000 species in 25 families of mostly terrestrial herbs especially of moist places including: Cyperaceae; Gramineae; Bromeliaceae; and Zingiberaceae

a family of plants

a genus of plants

a group of families of mostly flowers having basal or central placentation and trinucleate pollen (binucleate pollen is commoner in flowering plants); contains 14 families including: Caryophyllaceae (carnations and pinks); Aizoaceae; Amaranthaceae; Batidaceae; Chenopodiaceae; Cactaceae (order Opuntiales); Nyctaginaceae; Phytolaccaceae; corresponds approximately to order Caryophyllales; sometimes classified as a superorder

a group of mostly sympetalous herbs and some trees and shrubs mostly with 2 fused carpels; contains 43 families including Campanulales; Solanaceae; Scrophulariaceae; Labiatae; Verbenaceae; Rubiaceae; Compositae; sometimes classified as a superorder

bamboos

a group of trees and shrubs and herbs mostly with polypetalous flowers; contains 108 families including Rosaceae; Crassulaceae; Myrtaceae; Melastomaceae; Euphorbiaceae; Umbelliferae

a group of chiefly woody plants considered among the most primitive of angiosperms; perianth poorly developed or lacking; flowers often unisexual and often in catkins and often wind pollinated; contains 23 families including the Betulaceae and Fagaceae (includes the Amentiferae); sometimes classified as a superorder

a group of families of more or less advanced trees and shrubs and herbs having either polypetalous or gamopetalous corollas and often with ovules attached to the walls of the ovary; contains 69 families including Ericaceae and Cruciferae and Malvaceae; sometimes classified as a superorder

one of four subclasses or superorders of Monocotyledones; comprises 17 families including: Liliaceae; Alliaceae; Amaryllidaceae; Iridaceae; Orchidaceae; Trilliaceae

class of fungi coextensive with subdivision Zygomycota

the class of true slime molds; essentially equivalent to the division Myxomycota

cellular slime molds; in some classifications placed in kingdom Protoctista

nonphotosynthetic fungi that resemble algae and that reproduce by forming oospores; sometimes classified as protoctists

a class of mostly aquatic fungi; saprophytic or parasitic on algae or fungi or plants

the taxonomic kingdom including yeast, molds, smuts, mushrooms, and toadstools; distinct from the green plants

category used in some classifications: coextensive with division Eumycota

form class; coextensive with subdivision Deuteromycota

large class of higher fungi coextensive with subdivision Basidiomycota

category used in some classification systems for various basidiomycetous fungi including e.g. mushrooms and puffballs which are usually placed in the classes Gasteromycetes and Hymenomycetes

category used in some classification systems for various basidiomycetous fungi including rusts and smuts

used in some classifications; usually coextensive with order Agaricales: mushrooms; toadstools; agarics; bracket fungi

large class of higher fungi coextensive with division Ascomycota: sac fungi

category not used in many classification systems

class of fungi in which no ascocarps are formed: yeasts and some plant parasites

class of fungi in which the fruiting body is a cleistothecium (it releases spores only on decay or disintegration)

class of fungi in which the fruiting body is a perithecium; includes powdery mildews and ergot and Neurospora

a large and taxonomically difficult group of Ascomycetes in which the fleshy fruiting body is disklike or cup-shaped

fungi in which the hymenium is enclosed until after spores have matured: puffballs; earth stars; stinkhorn fungi

category used in some systems to comprise the two orders Ustilaginales (smuts) and Uredinales (rusts)

a variety of a plant developed from a natural species and maintained under cultivation

families of ferns and fern allies

genera of ferns and fern allies

ferns

whisk ferns; comprising the family Psilotaceae or Psilotatae: vascular plants with no roots, partial if any leaf differentiation, and rudimentary spore sacs

horsetails and related forms

club mosses and related forms: includes Lycopodiales; Isoetales; Selaginellales; and extinct Lepidodendrales; sometimes considered a subdivision of Tracheophyta

alternative designation for the class Lycopsida