Uh, thank you. [And that's a genuine thank you. Not everyone can honestly say they like hearing him talk.
He glances up at her again, slipping into 'teacher' mode.]
A phylum is a principal taxonomic category that ranks above class and below kingdom. Taxonomy is the study of classification, especially of organisms; first there is Domain, then there is Kingdom, then Phylum, then Class, then Order, then Family, then Genus, then Species.
'Kingdom' is what people are most familiar with; kingdom divides animals from plants, and both of those from fungus, and all three of those from bacteria, from protists, and from archaea. Within those categories, phyla are used to categorize organisms based on a general body plan or purpose they have in common; one you would be familiar with would be 'arthropods'. Arthropods are grouped together based on the fact that they all have exoskeletons made of chitin, and creatures within that phyla would include things like butterflies, scorpions, crabs, spiders, millipedes, and so on.
no subject
He glances up at her again, slipping into 'teacher' mode.]
A phylum is a principal taxonomic category that ranks above class and below kingdom. Taxonomy is the study of classification, especially of organisms; first there is Domain, then there is Kingdom, then Phylum, then Class, then Order, then Family, then Genus, then Species.
'Kingdom' is what people are most familiar with; kingdom divides animals from plants, and both of those from fungus, and all three of those from bacteria, from protists, and from archaea. Within those categories, phyla are used to categorize organisms based on a general body plan or purpose they have in common; one you would be familiar with would be 'arthropods'. Arthropods are grouped together based on the fact that they all have exoskeletons made of chitin, and creatures within that phyla would include things like butterflies, scorpions, crabs, spiders, millipedes, and so on.
Do you understand?