levels of classification

• Kingdom - Phylum - Class - Order - Family - Genus - Species
• Family - group of genera with related characteristics.
• Genus - category of classification of living things; specifically, a group of species closely related in structure

  and evolutionary origin.
• Species - is a group of closely related organisms that are able to interbreed and produce fertile offspring
• Domains

  1. Bacteria
  2. Archaebacteria
  3. Eukarya
• Kingdom Prokarya or Bacteria are distinguished from the life forms in all other kingdoms in that

  they do not have a membrane bound nucleus containing the genetic material of the cell.
• The Kingdom Animalia is comprised of multi-celled organisms which develop from an embryo resulting from

  the fertilization of an egg by a much smaller sperm.
• Kingdom Plantae is composed of multi-celled organisms that grow from embryos that are usually the

  result of sexual fusion of a male and female cell.
• Kingdom Fungi is comprised of non-motile cells that have cell walls made of chitin
• Kingdom Protista is the catch-all kingdom for everything that does not fit into the other four. It is comprised of

  many microscope organisms that are of great interest to this group (as well as some macroscopic organisms).

  These include protozoa (or protista under the more modern name) and algae but also such diverse organisms as

  slime molds and slime nets.
• Jawless fishes - These fishes have no bone

  structure and their sole support is from a simple cartilaginous rod

  known as the notochord.
• Cartilaginous

  fishes - Their notochord is

  surrounded by rings of cartilage known as vertebrae.
• Bony fishes - Their skeleton is made of

  bone, and most bony fishes also have an internal bladder that aids in

  buoyancy.
• Amphibians Cold-blooded animals that live some part of their life on land but usually must breed and develop from egg to larvae to adult in water.

  Most amphibian larvae use gills to breathe underwater.
• Reptiles - Cold-blooded animals with an outer covering of scales or bony plates

  that prevents their bodies from drying out when not near water.
• Birds - Warm-blooded animals whose body is covered with feathers.
• Mammals - Warm-blooded animals, the females of which have milk-secreting organs that they use to feed their young.
• Mammals have highly

  developed brains, giving them an intelligence unmatched by any

  other group of animals. Most mammals reproduce by giving birth to

  live young. They are the only animals with hair, and they have

  specialized teeth that make it possible to eat a wide variety of plants

  and animals for food.
• Porifera Simple, multicellular animals with tissues but no distinct organs.

  Commonly known as sponges, they typically attach to rocks, shells, or

  coral.
• Cnidaria - Aquatic radially symmetrical animals with tentacles encircling the

  mouth at one end of the body.
• Ctenophora - Jellyfish like marine animals distinguished by eight rows of cilia that

  propel the body in swimming.
• Platyhelminthes - Structurally simple worms with no anus or circulatory system. Known as flatworms
• Echinodera - Tiny worms with spiny bodies. An outer protective cuticle is

  segmented and articulated.
• Nematoda - Commonly known as roundworms, these animals are one of the most

  diverse and geographically widespread invertebrate phyla.
• Mollusca - Diverse animals found in water and on land. Most mollusks have a hard shell that protects a soft body,
• Annelida - Segmented worms with a muscular body wall used for burrowing.
• Arthropoda - Largest and most diverse invertebrate phylum characterized by

  animals with jointed limbs, a segmented body, and an exoskeleton

  made of chitin.
• Echinodermata - Marine animals distinguished by their radial symmetry in which the

  body can be divided into five parts arranged around a central axis.