What is the Latin meaning of phylum?
phylum (n.) “a primary division of the plant or animal kingdom, a genetically related tribe or race of organisms,” 1868, Modern Latin, coined by French naturalist Georges Léopole Chrétien Frédéric Dagobert, Baron Cuvier (1769-1832) from Greek phylon “race, stock,” related to phylē “tribe, clan” (see phylo-).
What does the phylum name mean?
: a group of related living things (as animals or plants) that ranks above the class and below the kingdom in scientific classification. phylum. noun. phy·lum | \ ˈfī-ləm \ plural phyla\ -lə \
What is phylum in simple words?
In biology, a phylum (/ˈfaɪləm/; plural: phyla) is a level of classification or taxonomic rank below kingdom and above class. Traditionally, in botany the term division has been used instead of phylum, although the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants accepts the terms as equivalent.
What does mollusk mean in Latin?
It’s a bit ironic that this term for a large phylum of invertebrates comes from a Latin word that means “soft,” mollis, since many mollusks (or molluscs in Britspeak) have hard shells. The epithet comes from the nature of the creatures’ bodies, whether in shell (like a snail) or without (like a slug).
What is the Latin meaning of the phylum and class for a squid?
The squid is one of the most highly developed invertebrates. It is in the phylum Mollusca, which is derived from the Latin word meaning “soft body”. It belongs to the class Cephalopoda, meaning “head-footed”, because its head is pushed down toward the foot.
What does arthropod literally mean?
An arthropod is an animal with no internal spine, a body made of joined segments, and a hard covering, like a shell. The Modern Latin root is Arthropoda, which is also the name of the animals’ phylum, and which means “those with jointed feet.”
What is the meaning of the word mollusks?
: any of a large phylum (Mollusca) of invertebrate animals (such as snails, clams, or squids) with a soft unsegmented body usually enclosed in a calcareous shell broadly : shellfish.
What are the defining features of the phylum to which humans belong?
Humans belong to phylum chordata or chordates. Chordates our organisms with bilateral symmetry, have a circulatory system and possess a notochord. Chordates are divided into three subphyla such as vertebrata, urochordata and cephalochordata.
Why are humans classified in the chordate phylum?
There is a long list of characteristics that organisms have in Chordata phylum, but the most important is the notochord. Notochord is a flexible rod which runs along the back (dorsal) side of the animal. For humans, our notochord is developing into a spinal cord, making us a chordate.
What is the phylum of squid?
Phylum Mollusca
Clams, Snails, and Squid: Phylum Mollusca, Class Cephalopoda.