In our previous article, we took the collie “up the ladder” through classifications of individual collie, breed, group, subspecies and species.  Today we will look at the higher classifications of the collie’s genus, family, class, phyum, and – the highest of all – kingdom.

Scientific Collie Classification Breakdown Review:

Individual Collie >  Your Pet
Breed > Rough & Smooth Collie
Group > Herding Group (In the US / AKC Kennel Registry)
Sub Species > The Domesticated Dog
Species > Canis Lupis

Genus > Canis
Family > Canidae 
Sub Order > Caniformia
Order > Carnivora
Class > Mammalia
Phylum >  Chordata
Kingdom >  Animalia 

Genus: Canis

On our next step up the ladder, all dogs in the Canis Lupis Species belong to the Genus Canis.  These are also known as the “True Dogs”.

The Canis group includes:

• Side-striped Jackal, Canis adustus
• Golden Jackal, Canis aureus
• Himalayan Wolf, Canis himalayaensis
• Indian Wolf, Canis pallipes or Canis indica
• Coyote, Canis latrans (also called Prairie Wolf)
• Eastern Canadian Wolf, Canis lycaon
• Gray Wolf, Canis lupus (2.723 Ma to present)
                  Domestic Dog, Canis lupus familiaris
                  Dingo, most often classified as Canis lupus dingo.
                  Many other proposed subspecies
• Red Wolf, Canis rufus, Canis lycaon, or Canis niger (hybrid?) (3 Ma to present)
• Black-backed Jackal, Canis mesomelas
• Ethiopian Wolf, Canis simensis (also called Abyssinian Wolf, Simien Fox and Simien Jackal)

Family:  Canidae 

On an even larger scale, we have the family of Canidae, which contains the groups of of True Dogs (where the gray wolf and domesticated dog falls), True Foxes, Basal Caninae.

 Sub-Order:  Caniformia

The Caniformia, or Canoidea (dog-shaped carnivores) is a sub-order within the order Carnivora. They typically possess a long snout and non-retractile claws (in contrast to the cat-like carnivores, the Feliformia). The Pinnipedia (seals, sea lions, and walruses) evolved from caniform ancestors and are accordingly assigned to this group.

Order:  Carnivora

The Caniformia sub-order, which contains the Canidae (?kan??d?, IPA: /?kæn?di/) family, is a part of the large order Carnivora.  The diverse order Carnivora (IPA: /k?r?n?v?r?/ or sometimes /?k?rn??v??r?/; from Latin car? (stem carn-) “flesh”, + vor?re “to devour”) includes over 260 species of placental mammals. Members of the order are called carnivorans, while the word “carnivore” can refer to a meat-eating animal of any type. Carnivorans are the most diverse in size of any mammalian order, ranging from the Least Weasel (Mustela nivalis), at as little as 25 grams and 11 cm (4.3 in), to the Polar bear (Ursus maritimus), which can weigh up to 1000 kg (2200 lb), to the Southern Elephant Seal, adult males of which average 2,270 kg (5,000 lb) and measure 4.2 m (13.9 ft) (and may grow considerably larger).

The first carnivoran was a carnivore, and nearly all carnivorans today primarily eat meat. Some, such as cats, pinnipeds, and weasels, are almost completely carnivorous. Others, such as bears, are more omnivorous. The Giant Panda is almost exclusively an herbivore, but it occasionally eats fish, eggs and insects.

Carnivorans have teeth and claws adapted for catching and eating other animals. Their eyes point forward. Many carnivorans hunt in packs and are social.

Carnivorans apparently evolved in North America out of members of the family Miacidae (miacids) c 42 million years ago. They soon split into catlike and doglike forms (feliformia and caniformia).

 Class:  Mammalia

Mammals (class Mammalia) are warm-blooded, vertebrate animals characterized by the presence of sweat glands, including milk producing sweat glands, and by the presence of: hair, three middle ear bones used in hearing, and a neocortex region in the brain. Most mammals also possess specialized teeth and utilize a placenta in the ontogeny. The mammalian brain regulates endothermic and circulatory systems, including a four-chambered heart. Mammals encompass approximately 5,400 species (including humans), distributed in about 1,200 genera, 153 families, and 29 orders,[1] though this varies by classification scheme.

Most mammals belong to the placental group. The four largest orders within the placental mammals are Rodentia (mice, rats, and other small, gnawing mammals), Chiroptera (bats), Carnivora (dogs, cats, bears, and other mammals that primarily eat meat), and Cetartiodactyla (including numerous herbivore species, such as deer, sheep, goats, and buffalos, plus whales).

Phylogenetically, Mammalia is defined as all descendants of the most recent common ancestor of monotremes (e.g., echidnas and platypuses) and therian mammals (marsupials and placentals). This means that some extinct groups of “mammals” are not members of the crowngroup Mammalia, even though most of them have all the characteristics that traditionally would have classified them as mammals. These “mammals” are now usually placed in the unranked clade Mammaliaformes.

Phylum:  Chordata

Chordates (phylum Chordata) are a group of animals that includes the vertebrates, together with several closely related invertebrates. They are united by having, at some time in their life cycle, a notochord, a hollow dorsal nerve cord, pharyngeal slits, an endostyle, and a post-anal tail. (though scorpions have tails, they are not closely related to Chordates) Some scientists argue that the true qualifier should be pharyngeal pouches rather than slits.[citation needed]

The phylum Chordata is broken down into three subphyla: Urochordata, Cephalochordata, and Vertebrata. Urochordate larvae have a notochord and a nerve cord but these are lost in adulthood. Cephalochordates have a notochord and a nerve cord but no vertebrae. In all vertebrates except for Hagfish, the dorsal hollow nerve cord has been surrounded with cartilaginous or bony vertebrae and the notochord generally reduced.

The chordates and two sister phyla, the hemichordates and the echinoderms, make up the deuterostomes, a superphylum.

The extant groups of chordates are related as shown in the phylogenetic tree below. Many of the taxa listed do not match traditional classes because several of those classes are paraphyletic. Different attempts to organize the profusion of chordate clades into a small number of groups, some with and some without paraphyletic taxa, have thrown vertebrate classification into a state of flux. Also, the relationships of some chordate groups are not very well understood.

The chordata phylum contains vertebrates and invertebrates. Some familiar animals, such as cats, dogs, hamsters, monkeys, and humans themselves are in the Chordata phylum.

 Kingdom:  Animalia

Animals are a major group of multicellular organisms, of the kingdom Animalia or Metazoa. Their body plan becomes fixed as they develop, usually early on in their development as embryos, although some undergo a process of metamorphosis later on in their life. Most animals are motile – they can move spontaneously and independently. Animals are heterotrophs – they are dependent on other organisms (e.g. plants) for sustenance.

The word “animal” comes from the Latin word animal, of which animalia is the plural, and is derived from anima, meaning vital breath or soul. In everyday colloquial usage, the word usually refers to non-human animals. The biological definition of the word refers to all members of the Kingdom Animalia. Therefore, when the word “animal” is used in a biological context, humans are included.

Related posts:

1. Understanding Collies: Classification (Individual through Species)
2. Understanding Collie History Series (Intro)
3. Understanding Dog Behavior
4. Items All Collies Need
5. Fun Facts about Collies