what is a taxa

A taxon is a term used in biology to refer to a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. It is a unit in the taxonomic classification system that has been recognized by at least one of the official nomenclature codes. Taxa are arranged in a hierarchy from kingdom to subspecies, with a given taxon ordinarily including several taxa. Taxa are assigned specific ranks, with the most common ones being kingdom, family, order, genus, and species. A taxon encompasses all included taxa of lower rank and individual organisms. Morphs, varieties, cultivars, races, etc. are some subgroups within species but not assigned taxa. When properly established by nomenclature codes and systems, taxa are assigned official names. The term "taxon" is derived from the word "taxonomy".