noun
- Plural of phylum; major groups into which animals or plants are classified, ranking below kingdom and above class.
Usage: biology; taxonomy
Examples
- Scientists classify all animals into several major phyla based on body structure.
- The phyla Chordata and Arthropoda contain the majority of known animal species.
- Different phyla have evolved distinct ways of obtaining food and reproducing.
- Marine biologists study organisms from various phyla in the ocean.
- The phyla of plants include flowering plants, ferns, and mosses.