Genus

In biology, a genus (plural: genera) is a low-level taxonomic rank (a taxon) used in the classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia. The term comes from Latin genus "descent, family, type, gender".

The hierarchy of biological classification's eight major taxonomic ranks, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia. A family contains one or more genera. Intermediate minor rankings are not shown.

The composition of a genus is determined by a taxonomist. The standards for genus classification are not strictly codified, and hence different authorities often produce different classifications for genera. In the hierarchy of the binomial classification system, genus comes above species and below family.