What does the word genus mean and how does classifying organisms work?
Genus is the classification level just before species. It comes from the Latin genus meaning “race, stock, kind,” or the Greek. genos meaning “race, kind,” The taxonomic levels are: Life Domain Kingdom Phylum Class Order Family Genus Species For humans the taxonomic classification is: Domain: Eukaryota Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Cordata Class: Mammalia Order: Primates Family: Hominidae Genus: Homo Species: H. sapiens The genus and species name together make up an organism’s scientific name; eg: “Homo H.
