Genus
taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, and viruses / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A genus is a rank in the biological classification (or taxonomy). It is above species, and below families. A genus can include more than one species. When biologists talk about a genus, they mean one or more species of animals or plants that are closely related to each other.
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As with other taxa, the plural is different from other English words because it is a Latin word. 'Genus' is the singular, and 'genera' is the plural form of the word.
When printing the scientific name of an organism, the name is always in italic. A name of species has two parts, with the genus first. For example, in "Felis silvestris", Felis is the genus. The genus name always begins with a capital letter. In "Felis silvestris catus", the third word is the subspecies, which is not often used.