Skip to main content
Back

Taxonomy definitions

Control buttons has been changed to "navigation" mode.
1/15
  • Taxonomy
    Branch of science organizing living organisms into hierarchical categories based on shared characteristics and evolutionary relationships.
  • Domain
    Most inclusive classification grouping all life; includes Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukarya, each with distinct cellular features.
  • Kingdom
    Second broadest classification level, grouping organisms within a domain based on fundamental traits.
  • Phylum
    Classification category below kingdom, grouping organisms by major structural similarities.
  • Class
    Taxonomic rank below phylum, organizing organisms with shared characteristics into distinct groups.
  • Order
    Taxonomic level below class, grouping families with similar features and evolutionary history.
  • Family
    Classification rank below order, grouping genera with closely related traits.
  • Genus
    Taxonomic category below family, grouping species with common ancestry and similar morphology.
  • Species
    Least inclusive classification, representing a single type of organism capable of interbreeding.
  • Bacteria
    Domain of prokaryotic, unicellular organisms with circular DNA, theorized to resemble earliest cells.
  • Archaea
    Domain of prokaryotes including extremophiles like halophiles and thermophiles, lacking membrane-bound nuclei.
  • Eukarya
    Domain of organisms with membrane-bound nuclei, including multicellular life and protists.
  • Prokaryotic Cell
    Cell type lacking membrane-bound nucleus and organelles, typically smaller and unicellular with circular DNA.
  • Eukaryotic Cell
    Cell type with membrane-bound nucleus and organelles, larger and more complex, containing linear DNA.
  • Ribosome
    Cellular structure present in all life, responsible for protein synthesis; size differs between cell types.