(1) Any group or rank in a biological classification into which related organisms are classified. (2) A taxonomic unit in the biological system of classification of organisms.
Taxon. Definition. noun, plural: taxa. (taxonomy). (1) Any group or rank in a biological classification into which related organisms are classified. (2) A taxonomic unit in the biological system of classification of organisms, for example: a phylum, order, family, genus, or species. Supplement. (noun) Plural form of taxon. See taxon for definition and additional information. Please contribute to this project, if you have more information about this term feel free to edit this page. This page was last modified on 9 March 2009, at 07:55.This page has been accessed 77,557 times. Many modern systematists, such as advocates of phylogenetic nomenclature, use cladistic methods that require taxa to be monophyletic (all descendants of some ancestor). Their basic unit, therefore, is the clade rather than the taxon. It is not uncommon, however, for taxonomists to remain at odds over what belongs to a taxon and the criteria used for inclusion. If a taxon is given a formal scientific name, its use is then governed by one of the nomenclature codes specifying which scientific name is correct for a particular grouping. Rating Newest Oldest. Best Answer: A taxon (plural taxa) is any category of biological classification used at any level whatsoever. The largest, from a cladistic perspective, would be the one including all known organisms on Earth, as all appear to be descendants of a common ancestor. That one contains all known species. You, for example, are a member of a taxon (class) called Mammalia, another (order) known as Primates, a further taxon (genus) named /Homo/, and another (species) called /sapiens/. All of those levels (and more such as phyla, subclass, family and loads of other terms) are taxa. Source(s): KTDykes · 7 years ago. African elephants form the genus Loxodonta, a widely accepted taxon. In biology, a taxon (plural taxa; back-formation from taxonomy) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. It is not uncommon, however, for taxonomists to remain at odds over what belongs to a taxon and the criteria used for inclusion. If a taxon is given a formal scientific name, its use is then governed by one of the nomenclature codes specifying which scientific name is correct for a particular grouping. Definition of TAXON. 1. : a taxonomic group or entity. 2. : the name applied to a taxonomic group in a formal system of nomenclature. ADVERTISEMENT.  In the modern organization of taxa, or scientific classification, the first level is the species. Kingdom Phylum / Division in plants and bacteria (subphylum) Class Order Family Genus Species (Breed)   The abov … e list are all taxa. This is the plural of the word taxon thus genus is a taxon and Family is a taxon. Various publishers also use subdivisions of all of these to show how various organisms are related. Species is often divided into subspecies and variety
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what is taxa