Taxon

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DomainKingdomPhylumClassOrderFamilyGenusSpecies
The hierarchy of scientific classification in biology.

Biologists group organisms into a hierarchical system of taxons or taxonomic units, each taxon based on specified criteria of similarity or relationship.

The figure at the right illustrates the hierarchy of taxons. The highest taxon, the 'domain', of which biologists have identified three — Archaea, Bacteria, and Eukarya — together include all known living systems.