Phylum
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A phylum is a taxonomic rank below kingdom and above class in biological classification.[1] In botanical contexts, "division" serves as the traditional label for this rank, but the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants treats both "division" and "phylum" as interchangeable terms.[1] Estimates for the number of phyla vary: Animalia is thought to contain roughly 32, Plantae around 14, and Fungi approximately 8.[1]
Quick Facts
- Coined by
- Ernst Haeckel
- Etymology
- Greek phylon (φῦλον, 'race, stock')
- Botanical equivalent
- division
- Animal phyla estimated
- about 32
- Plant phyla estimated
- about 14
Facts from the source article.
Key facts and history
Ernst Haeckel coined the term phylum in 1866 from the Greek phylon, meaning 'race, stock'.[2] Haeckel described a phylum as the aggregate of all species that have gradually evolved from one common original form.[2] In plant taxonomy, August W. Eichler in 1883 classified plants into five groups named divisions, a term still used for plants, algae, and fungi.[3] A phylum can be defined phenetically, by morphological or developmental similarity, or phylogenetically, by evolutionary relatedness.[4]
Phyla can be merged or split when new data, especially molecular studies, reveal relationships between groups.[5] For example, bearded worms were described as phylum Pogonophora but later found to be annelids, so the phyla were merged.[5] Due to the instability of phylum definitions, some researchers advocate discarding the formal rank of phylum entirely and instead assigning taxa to clades without hierarchical levels.[4]
What the research sources say
The ICSP opted for phylum names composed of the stem of the type genus name followed by the ending -ota.[6] Oren and Garrity in 2021 validly published 42 phylum names using that naming scheme, the first such valid publication under the ICNP.[6] The International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants governs the scientific naming of all organisms traditionally treated as algae, fungi, or plants.[7]
References
- Wikipedia, "Phylum" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants (Melbourne Code), Adopted by the Eighteenth International Botanical Congress Melbourne, Australia, July 2011", International Association for Plant Taxonomy; "The American Heritage New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy", Houghton Mifflin Company, 2005; Berg, "Introductory Botany: Plants, People, and the Environment", Cengage Learning, 2 March 2007, p. 15 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Phylum" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Valentine, "On the Origin of Phyla", University of Chicago Press, 2004, p. 8; Haeckel, "Generelle Morphologie der Organismen", G. Reimer, 1866, p. 28–29 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Phylum" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants (Melbourne Code), Adopted by the Eighteenth International Botanical Congress Melbourne, Australia, July 2011", International Association for Plant Taxonomy; Naik, "Taxonomy of Angiosperms", Tata McGraw-Hill, 1984, p. 27; "Defining phyla: evolutionary pathways to metazoan body plans", Evolution and Development, 2001, p. 432–442 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Phylum" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Budd, "A critical reappraisal of the fossil record of the bilaterian phyla", Biological Reviews, May 2000, p. 253–295 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Phylum" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Rouse, "A cladistic analysis of Siboglinidae Caullery, 1914 (Polychaeta, Annelida): formerly the phyla Pogonophora and Vestimentifera", Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2001, p. 55–80; "Origin of the Mesozoa inferred from 18S rRNA gene sequences", Molecular Biology and Evolution, October 1996, p. 1128–32 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- "Names of phyla", List of Prokaryotic names with Standing in Nomenclature (LPSN). facts only, no text reused. lpsn.dsmz.de
- "International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants (Melbourne Code), Adopted by the Eighteenth International Botanical Congress Melbourne, Australia, July 2011", International Association for Plant Taxonomy. facts only, no text reused. iapt-taxon.org
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Phylum (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Phylum (CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Word definitions: the Codexery glossary, each quoted from its Wikipedia article.
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