Next month, I will be teaching a class about animal groups,
families, & taxonomy. Taxonomy shows us how animals (or other
objects) are related to one another in a hierarchical structure.
There are 7 major groups which we regularly classify animals
into, but there are also a wide variety of sub- or super-
categories. The major groups of biological classifications are
listed below with two examples written out: |American
Crow||North American Giant Octopus| |Species||C.
brachyrhynchos||E. dofleini| Depending on whom you ask, you may
find there are 30-38 phyla, the major categories of animals
based on their general body plan and developmental or internal
organizations. These phyla can vary from containing only one
species (Placazoa) to well over a million (Arthropoda). Coming
from a Zoology background, I found that I really like taxonomy
and seeing the order and relationships between animals helps me
to make sense of how a rock hyrax and an elephant could possibly
be close cousins. They are connected in a group c