Taxonomic Hierarchy

Taxonomic Hierarchy

Taxonomic hierarchy was introduced by Carolus Linnaeus. It is the arrangement of various taxonomic levels in descending order starting from kingdom up to species.

Species is the lowest of classification and shows the high level of similarities among the organisms. For example, Helianthus annuus and Helianthus tuberosus. These two species differ in their morphology. Both of them are herbs but Helianthus tuberosus is a perennial herb.

Genus consist of multiple species which have similar characters but differ from the species of another genus. Example: Helianthus, Tridax.

Family comprises a number of genera which share some similarities among them. Example: Asteraceae.

Order includes group of families which show less similarities among them.

Class consists of group of orders which share few similarities.

Division is the next level of classification that consists of number of classes.

Example: Magnoliophyta.

Kingdom is the highest level or rank of the classification. Example: Plantae