Question

What is the basic unit of classification.

Answer 1

Hint: Classification is the scientific ordering of organisms in a hierarchical series of groups based on their morphological, evolutionary, and other relationships. The 7 obligate categories in which all living organisms are classified are arranged from higher to lower categories. The lowest taxon functions as the basic unit and is the category with the highest specificity.

Complete answer:
The process of classification of living organisms is not a single step process but involves several steps that are a hierarchy of steps in which each step represents a rank or category. Taxonomy is a branch of science which deals with the principal and procedures of the classification. The definite categories or ranks in the classification of plants, animals, and other organisms are:
- Kingdom
- Phylum (for animals) or division ( for plants).
- Class
- Order
- Family
- Genus
- Species
These 7 obligate categories in which all living organisms are classified are arranged in descending sequence starting from the kingdom up to species or in ascending order from species to kingdom.
Specificity decreases when we go from species to kingdom i.e. higher the category, the lesser will be the number of similar characteristics of the organisms belonging to that category. In the taxonomic hierarchy, species serve as the basic and the lowest category.
Species is a natural population of individuals or a group of actually or potentially interbreeding population that is reproductively isolated from other such groups. Due to the similarities in some morphological features, one or more species are kept in the same genus. For example, Panthera leo (lion) and Panthera tigris (tiger).

Note: - Taxon represents any level of grouping of organisms on certain easily observable common characteristics. - Taxa represent the ranks or the categories in the classification. - The number of similar characters of categories decreases from lowest rank i.e. species to highest rank i.e. kingdom. - All the species represent the different organisms that are kept in the same genus due to some similarities in their morphological features but are assigned to different specific epithet due to some other distinguishing feature.