In zoological nomenclature, a subphylum is a taxonomic rank below the rank of

phylum In biology, a phylum (; 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 f ...

. The taxonomic rank of "

subdivision Subdivision may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Subdivision (metre), in music * ''Subdivision'' (film), 2009 * "Subdivision", an episode of ''Prison Break'' (season 2) * ''Subdivisions'' (EP), by Sinch, 2005 * "Subdivisions" (song), by Rus ...

" in fungi and plant taxonomy is equivalent to "subphylum" in zoological taxonomy. Some plant taxonomists have also used the rank of subphylum, for instance monocotyledons as a subphylum of phylum

Angiospermae Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

and vertebrates as a subphylum of phylum

Chordata A chordate () is an animal of the phylum Chordata (). All chordates possess, at some point during their larval or adult stages, five synapomorphies, or primary physical characteristics, that distinguish them from all the other taxa. These fiv ...

Taxonomic rank

Subphylum is: #subordinate to the

#superordinate to the infraphylum. Where convenient, subphyla in turn can be divided into infraphyla; in turn such an infraphylum also would be superordinate to any classes or superclasses in the

hierarchy A hierarchy (from Greek: , from , 'president of sacred rites') is an arrangement of items (objects, names, values, categories, etc.) that are represented as being "above", "below", or "at the same level as" one another. Hierarchy is an important ...

Examples

Not all fauna phyla are divided into subphyla. Those that are include: * Arthropoda: divided into subphyla Trilobitomorpha, Chelicerata, Myriapoda, Hexapoda and

Crustacea Crustaceans (Crustacea, ) form a large, diverse arthropod taxon which includes such animals as decapods, seed shrimp, branchiopods, fish lice, krill, remipedes, isopods, barnacles, copepods, amphipods and mantis shrimp. The crustacean gro ...

, * Brachiopoda: divided into subphyla Linguliformea, Craniformea and Rhynchonelliformea, *

: divided into Tunicata, Cephalochordata, and its largest subphylum Vertebrata. Examples of infraphyla include the Mycetozoa, the Gnathostomata and the Agnatha.

References

Bibliography

* {{Taxonomic ranks Biology terminology rank03