A taxonomic group of any rank, such as species, genus, family, or phylum, used in the classification of organisms. It represents a unit of biological classification.
From Greek 'taxis' meaning 'arrangement' or 'order' and the suffix '-on' indicating a unit. Coined in the early 20th century as biological classification systems became more systematic and standardized.
The plural of taxon is taxa, not taxons, following its Greek origin. Every living thing belongs to multiple nested taxa simultaneously - humans are in the taxa Homo (genus), Hominidae (family), Primates (order), and many others up to Kingdom Animalia.
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