Question

The taxonomic unit ‘Phylum’ in the classification of animals is equivalent to which hierarchical level in the classification of plants?
A. Class
B. Order
C. Division
D. Family

Answer 1

The Biological system of classification of organisms into the various hierarchies are known as the taxa. In addition, there are a total of seven hierarchical taxonomic categories.

Complete answer: Taxonomic ranks are defined as the relative order in which the organisms are grouped on the basis of their similarities. There are several levels on which the grouping is done. These are known as taxa.
In biological classification, a taxonomic hierarchy is as follows –

As we move down the table, the similarities between the organisms in a rank start increasing. A phylum/division is a subunit of the Kingdom. The word phylum is used for animals in zoology, whereas the word division is used for plants in botany. But both of these words denote the same meaning.
The phylum can be defined as that level of classification or the taxonomic rank which comes under the kingdom. Hence, the animals in a phylum show more similarities as compared to the animals under the kingdom. Also, the phylum can be defined as the level of classification that comes above class. Animals in a phylum show fewer similarities as compared to the animals under the class. Thus, the taxonomic unit ‘Phylum’ in the classification of animals is equivalent to the taxonomic unit ‘Division’ in the classification of the plants.
Hence, the correct answer is option (C).

Note: Kingdom was considered the highest taxonomic rank and it was believed that species from different kingdoms possess the least similarities. However, later it was found on the basis of evolutionary studies that there are evolutionary similarities in the organisms from different kingdoms. Hence, a bigger taxonomic rank by the name of the Domain was created which contained the kingdoms inside it.