Phylum

The taxonomic ranking of phylum is the third level of classification in the hierarchy of classification, following domain and kingdom. Organisational phyla are groups of organisms that share a set of characteristics that distinguish them from organisms belonging to other phyla. Since the beginning of scientific history, the characteristics that distinguish animals from one another have changed as better methods for determining how groups of animals are related have emerged. Modern phylogenic systematics, also known as phylogenetics, makes use of a variety of traits to map the changes that have occurred between different animal groups. Different hypotheses about how a phylum is related to other phyla (plural of phylum) result in different cladograms, which are visual representations of the relationships between groups of organisms. In general, the cladogram with the fewest number of changes, or the most parsimonious cladogram, is accepted as the most likely hypothesis for the relationships between different phyla, or groups of organisms. Aside from animals and plants, protists and bacteria have also been divided into divisions in the past. The word phylum was later adopted as a replacement.

There are approximately 35 animal phyla, 12 plant phyla, and 7 phyla of fungi in the world, according to the classification system. The bacteria, which includes the archaea, are classified into approximately 34 phyla, although the relationships between these groups are not as well understood as they could be. As new evidence and techniques are discovered, it will be impossible to know the exact number of phyla in existence. For example, with the advent of genetic testing, many groups that were previously thought to be monophyletic were discovered to have genetic makeups that were vastly different. The term “monophyletic” refers to a group that has all of its common ancestors in the same lineage. To make the phylum monophyletic, it would be necessary to include a large number of organisms that do not share a recent ancestor. To do so, many more groups would have to be included. This results in the phylum being divided into multiple phyla in these instances. Other times, two different phyla are discovered to be closely related and will be combined into a single phylum as a result of this discovery.

Examples of Phylum

1. Phylum Chordata

Consider the example of an animal that lives in a zoo. Except for an octopus or one of the insects in the rainforest pavilion, chances have you imagined an animal from the phylum Chordata when you heard the word “animal.” Those animals that have a notochord, a dorsal hollow nerve chord, and a muscular postanal tail are classified as members of this phylum. These three characteristics can be observed in every member of this phylum, including humans. Many animals, like humans, lose some of these characteristics as they grow and mature. This phylum contains everything from the tiniest fish and tunicates to the largest apes on the planet. It belongs to one of the 88 different phyla that have been identified. In terms of species, it only has around 50,000 species that have been described. The other phyla are collectively responsible for well over 2 million described species, with the phylum Arthropoda alone accounting for well over a million documented species.

2. Phylum Arthropoda

The Arthropoda, which is by far the largest individual phylum, includes all segmented animals with hard skeletons, such as the insects and crustaceans that we are familiar with. Deep-sea crabs to mosquitoes are all included in this phylum of organisms. The ability of arthropods to adapt their hard exoskeleton into almost any shape or function accounts for their wide range of species diversity. This has allowed arthropods to adapt to survive in every environment on the planet as a result of their evolutionary progress.

3. Phylum Mollusca

Octopuses and their relatives are included in this phylum, which means they are related to each other. Snails, slugs, clams, mussels, squids, and other soft-bodied animals are included in the molluscs category, as are all other soft-bodied animals. They frequently secrete a shell to protect their delicate bodies. During their lives, the individuals die and their shells are shed to the bottom, where they accumulate. The shells and coral matter are pushed onto the beach by the waves, where they are repeatedly crushed by the waves. As a result, mollusc shells account for a significant portion of the sand found on the world’s most beautiful beaches. While the majority of the species are relatively unintelligent and rely on sessile filter feeding, several species are extremely intelligent and compete with organisms such as dolphins and pigs for space and resources. For example, different species of octopus have completed extremely complex tasks to obtain food. Some squid hunt in large predatory packs that work together to bring down large prey such as whales and dolphins.

Conclusion

The taxonomic ranking of phylum is the third level of classification in the hierarchy of classification, following domain and kingdom. Organizational phyla are groups of organisms that share a set of characteristics that distinguish them from organisms belonging to other phyla. There are approximately 35 animal phyla, 12 plant phyla, and 7 phyla of fungi in the world, according to the classification system. The bacteria, which includes the archaea, are classified into approximately 34 phyla, although the relationships between these groups are not as well understood as they could be. Octopuses and their relatives are included in this phylum, which means they are related to each other. Snails, slugs, clams, mussels, squids, and other soft-bodied animals are included in the molluscs category, as are all other soft-bodied animals.