Organisms classification

All life on EarthThis is the biggest group the red squirrel belongs to. It also includes every other living thing on this planet - plants, animals, fungi, bacteria and protists - anything that is alive. We cannot even estimate how many things belong to this group!

All life on Earth

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Mammalia

Order: Rodentia

Family: Sciuridae

Genus: Sciurus

Species: vulgaris

Kingdom: AnimaliaYou have reached kingdom level. This is the second biggest group the red squirrel belongs to. It also includes every other animal on Earth - but there are no plants, fungi, protists in this group - just ANIMALS! There are probably around one and half million species of animal alive today.

All life on Earth

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Mammalia

Order: Rodentia

Family: Sciuridae

Genus: Sciurus

Species: vulgaris

Phylum: ChordataYou have reached phylum level. Phylum Chordata includes the red squirrel, and every other vertebrate animal (vertebrates are 'chordates'). We have cut out all invertebrates - there are no insects, crustaceans, or worms - just vertebrates (like mammals, fish, reptiles, amphibians and birds). There are around 26,000 species of vertebrates alive today.

All life on Earth

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Mammalia

Order: Rodentia

Family: Sciuridae

Genus: Sciurus

Species: vulgaris

Class: MammaliaYou have reached class level. Class Mammalia includes the red squirrel, and every other mammal (animals with fur, that produce milk and look after their young). We have cut out all other vertebrates - fish, reptiles, amphibians and birds. There are probably around 4,800 species of mammal alive today.

All life on Earth

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Mammalia

Order: Rodentia

Family: Sciuridae

Genus: Sciurus

Species: vulgaris

Order: RodentiaYou have reached order level. Order Rodentia includes the red squirrel, and every other kind of rodent - like mice, rats, gophers and beavers. We have cut out all other types of mammals - like bears, rabbits, lions, kangaroos, monkeys, and many, many others.There are probably around 2,000 species of rodents alive today.

All life on Earth

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Mammalia

Order: Rodentia

Family: Sciuridae

Genus: Sciurus

Species: vulgaris

Family: SciuridaeYou have reached family level. The family Sciuridae includes the red squirrel, and every other kind of squirrel - other tree squirrels, ground squirrels and flying squirrels. We have cut out all the other types of rodents like mice and rats. There are probably around 270 species of squirrel alive today.

All life on Earth

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Mammalia

Order: Rodentia

Family: Sciuridae

Genus: Sciurus

Species: vulgaris

Genus: SciurusYou have reached genus level. The genus Sciurus is made up of the tree squirrels. It includes the red squirrel, and the other species we see in British parks and gardens - the grey squirrel. We have cut out all the other types like ground squirrels and flying squirrels. There are about 30 species of Sciurus squirrels alive today.

All life on Earth

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Mammalia

Order: Rodentia

Family: Sciuridae

Genus: Sciurus

Species: vulgaris

Species: vulgarisYou have reached species level. Sciurus vulgaris is in a group on its own. Each species name describes just one animal. So each animal gets its scientific name from the combination of its genus name and its species name. We have cut out all the other types of Sciurus tree squirrel, like the grey squirrel.

All life on Earth

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Mammalia

Order: Rodentia

Family: Sciuridae

Genus: Sciurus

Species: vulgaris