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There are currently 1,258 genera, 161 families, 27 orders, and around 5,937 recognized living species of mammal. [1] Mammalian taxonomy is in constant flux as many new species are described and recategorized within their respective genera and families.
The hierarchy of biological classification's eight major taxonomic ranks.A family contains one or more genera. Intermediate minor rankings are not shown. Genus (/ ˈ dʒ iː n ə s /; pl.: genera / ˈ dʒ ɛ n ər ə /) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family as used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. [1]
Over 1.5 million living animal species have been described—of which around 1 million are insects—but it has been estimated there are over 7 million in total. Animals range in size from 8.5 millionths of a metre to 33.6 metres (110 ft) long and have complex interactions with each other and their environments, forming intricate food webs .
The basic ranks are species and genus. When an organism is given a species name it is assigned to a genus, and the genus name is part of the species name. The species name is also called a binomial, that is, a two-term name. For example, the zoological name for the human species is Homo sapiens. This is usually italicized in print or underlined ...
In the English language, many animals have different names depending on whether they are male, female, young, domesticated, or in groups. The best-known source of many English words used for collective groupings of animals is The Book of Saint Albans , an essay on hunting published in 1486 and attributed to Juliana Berners . [ 1 ]
The binomial name often reflects limited knowledge or hearsay about a species at the time it was named. For instance Pan troglodytes, the chimpanzee, and Troglodytes troglodytes, the wren, are not necessarily cave-dwellers. Sometimes a genus name or specific descriptor is simply the Latin or Greek name for the animal (e.g. Canis is Latin for ...
Scholastic logicians and philosophers of nature defined the species human, for example, as Animal rationalis, where animal was considered a genus and rationalis (Latin for "rational") the characteristic distinguishing humans from all other animals. Treating animal as the immediate genus of the species human, horse, etc. is of little
This list of longest species names lists the longest scientific binomials. [1] Species in this list are grouped by length of their name. Only binomials are considered, not subgenera, trinomial names of subspecies or infraspecific names. Family is given for each species (or the closest taxonomic rank if family is unassigned), with a short ...