Class (biology)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
<imagemap> Image:Biological_classification_L_Pengo.svg|150px|The various levels of the biological classification system. rect 100 27 225 68 Species rect 100 90 225 132 Genus rect 100 154 225 196 Family rect 100 217 225 259 Order rect 100 280 225 322 Class rect 100 344 225 386 Phylum rect 100 407 225 449 Kingdom rect 100 471 225 513 Domain rect 100 534 225 576 Life default Image:Biological_classification_L_Pengo.svg desc none </imagemap>
Image:Magnify-clip.png|right default Image:Biological classification L Pengo.svg desc none
</imagemap>The hierarchy of biological classification's major eight levels. Intermediate minor rankings are not shown.A class is the taxonomic rank in the scientific classification of organisms in biology below phylum and above order.
For example, Mammalia is the class used in the classification of dogs, whose phylum is Chordata (animals with notochords) and order is Carnivora (mammals that eat meat).
[edit] History of the concept
The class as a distinct of biological classification having its own distinctive name (and not just called a higher genus (genus summum)) was first introduced by a French botanist Joseph Pitton de Tournefort in his classification of plants (appeared in his 1694 Eléments de botanique). Carolus Linnaeus was the first to apply it consistently to the division of all three kingdoms of Nature (minerals, plants, and animals) in his Systema Naturae (1735, 1st. Ed.). Since then class had been considered the highest level of the taxonomic hierarchy until the embranchements, now called phyla, and divisions were introduced in the nineteenth century.
[edit] See also
Taxonomic ranks
| ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Domain or | Magnorder | |||||||
| Superkingdom | Superphylum/Superdivision | Superclass | Superorder | Superfamily | Superspecies | |||
| Kingdom | Phylum/Division | Class | Order | Family | Tribe | Genus | Species | |
| Subkingdom | Subphylum | Subclass | Cohort | Suborder | Subfamily | Subtribe | Subgenus | Subspecies |
| Branch | Infraphylum | Infraclass | Legion | Infraorder | Alliance | Infraspecies | ||
| Microphylum | Parvclass | Parvorder | ||||||
als:Klasse (Biologie) an:Clase (biolochía) be:Клас (біялогія) br:Kevrennad ca:Classe (biologia) cs:Třída (biologie) cy:Dosbarth (bioleg) da:Klasse (biologi) de:Klasse (Biologie) et:Klass (bioloogia) el:Ομοταξία es:Clase (biología) fr:Classe (biologie) fy:Klasse gl:Clase (bioloxía) ko:강 (생물학) hr:Razred (biologija) id:Kelas (biologi) is:Flokkur (flokkunarfræði) it:Classe (tassonomia) he:מחלקה (טקסונומיה) lb:Klass (Biologie) lt:Klasė (biologija) hu:Osztály (rendszertan) nl:Klasse (biologie) ja:綱 (分類学) no:Klasse (biologi) nn:Biologisk klasse oc:Classa (biologia) om:Class (biology) nds:Klass (Biologie) pl:Klasa (biologia) pt:Classe (biologia) ro:Clasă (biologie) ru:Класс (биология) scn:Classi (bioluggìa) simple:Class (biology) fi:Luokka (biologia) sv:Klass (biologi) vi:Lớp (sinh học) tr:Sınıf (biyoloji) uk:Клас (біологія) vec:Clase (tasonomìa) zh:纲 (生物)
