overt@antony (Christian Overton) (09/27/89)
We are building a taxonomic hierachy based on information supplied to us by GenBank. The information is of the following form: . Eukaryota # kingdom . . Metazoa # subkingdom . . . Annelida # phylum . . . . Oligochaeta # class . . . . . Enchytraeus albidus # species . . . . . Perinereis brevicirris # species . . . Arthropoda # phylum . . . . Acrididae # family . . . . . Locusta migratoria # species . . . . Arachnida # . . . . . Eurypelma californicum # species . . . . . Xiphosura # . . . . . . Tachypleus tridentatus # species . . . . Crustacea # class . . . . . Artemia salina # species . . . . . Artemia sp. # species . . . . . Cardisoma guanhumi # species . . . . . Euphausia sperba # species . . . . . Gecarcinus lateralis # species . . . . . Geryon quinquedens # species . . . . . Paguras pollicaris # species . . . . Insecta # class ETC., ETC., ETC. We have found some inconsistencies and errors in the file, but right now our major concern is to determine an unambiguous ordering of the taxonomic levels from the information provided. The following taxonomic levels are present in the GenBank data and correspond to the standard ordering (although we wondered why there wasn't a superphylum level): superkingdom kingdom subkingdom phylum subphylum superclass class subclass superorder order suborder superfamily family subfamily genus species ========== We are having trouble confirming the correct position within the taxonomic levels of the following (listed in alphabetical order): cohort subcohort division subdivision group infraclass infraorder section series tribe We can deduce the positions of most from the data, but we would prefer to have their order confirmed. Our tentative ordering is: superkingdom kingdom subkingdom phylum subphylum superclass class subclass infraclass cohort subcohort superorder order suborder infraorder series / section superfamily family subfamily tribe genus subgenus species subspecies Is the above correct? In addition, we cannot properly place 'division/subdivision', which occur, for example, both above 'class' and below 'suborder', and 'section' and 'series' both of which occur below infraorder, but cannot be ordered relative to each other. Pointers to an easily accessible text on the subject of bio-taxonomies would also be appreciated. Thanks. Chris -- +--------------------------------------------------------------------+ | G. Christian Overton, Staff Sci. || Telephone: (215) 648-7533 | Unisys Paoli Resarch Center || Internet: overt@prc.unisys.com | P.O.Box 517 || FAX: (215) 648-7390