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GENUS (pl. Genera): assemblage of related species evolved from a common ancestor. The genus panthera is differentiated from the related genus felis which includes other wild cats.
FAMILY: It includes related genera. All types of 'cats' belonging to different genera are grouped under the family felidae. This family is distinguished from canidae which includes dogs and foxes.
ORDER: Assemblage of related families; both the above families are placed under the order carnivora.
CLASS: Assemblage of related orders; the order primates which includes man, monkey, ape, etc., and the above order carnivora are included in the class mammalia.
PHYLUM (pl. Phyla): Organisms of different classes having some features in common are included in a phylum. The phylum chordata includes a number of classes such as amphibia, reptilia, and mammalia.
In the case of plants, several classes constitute a DIVISION which is equivalent to the phylum of the animal kingdom.
Compared to the above, the Jain systems of classification are very much simpler. One of the ways is to classify according to the number of sense-organs possessed by the organisms. Thus the entire psychical order of existence is divided in just five classes only: one-sensed, twosensed, three-sensed, four-sensed, and five-sensed.
The organisms with only one sense organ-sense of touch-are naturally the most primitive. They are called STHAVARAS-immobileas they are devoid of the ability of locomotion. They are further divided into five sub-classes according to the nature of their bodies. Thus we have earth-, water-, fire-, and air-bodied organisms and plants (with vegetable body).
Amongst the five sthāvaras, organisms possessing only one senseorgan, PLANTS are the most highly developed ones. This truth has been indicated by both commentators of Sutrakṛtānga Sūtra-Curṇikāra and Vṛttikara
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