Biology · The Living World · NEET
A family is a taxonomic category (a rank) made of a group of related genera. NCERT says a family 'has a group of related genera with still less number of similarities as compared to genus and species.' So as you go up from genus to family, the number of shared characters drops. Example: the genera Solanum, Petunia and Datura are all placed in one family, Solanaceae.
Family is HIGHER than genus. The order from lowest to highest is Species → Genus → Family → Order → Class. A genus contains related species; a family contains related genera. So a family is one step bigger than a genus. This ranking is a very common NEET question, so memorise the ascending order.
A genus is a group of closely related species that share many characters. A family is a group of related genera that share fewer characters. Family is broader. Example: genus Panthera (lion, tiger, leopard) and genus Felis (cats) are different genera, but both are grouped into one family, Felidae, because cats and big cats still share some features.
NCERT says plant families are 'characterised on the basis of both vegetative and reproductive features of plant species.' That means leaves/stems (vegetative) AND flowers (reproductive) are used. Animal families are decided the same way — by shared body features. Example plants: Solanaceae. Example animals: Felidae (cats) and Canidae (dogs).
NCERT gives this exact example. A cat and a dog have some similarities but also many differences. Because their differences are large, they are separated into two different families — Felidae for cats and Canidae for dogs. Both families later join together at a higher level (the order Carnivora).
Often, yes. Many plant family names end in '-aceae' (Solanaceae, Anacardiaceae) and many animal family names end in '-idae' (Felidae, Canidae, Muscidae, Equidae). NEET loves testing family names for housefly (Muscidae), horse (Equidae) and mango (Anacardiaceae), so learn these endings — they help you spot the family in a match-the-column question.
Match Column-I with Column-II for housefly classification and select the correct option: Column-I: A. Family B. Order C. Class D. Phylum Column-II: (i) Diptera (ii) Arthropoda (iii) Muscidae (iv) Insecta
Match List-I with List-II (mango classification): List-I: A. Family B. Genus C. Class D. Phylum E. Order List-II: I. Sapindales II. Dicotyledonae III. Anacardiaceae IV. Angiospermae V. Mangifera
Try the real previous-year questions from this chapter — each with the answer and a full solution.
A family is a taxonomic category that groups together related genera, sharing fewer common characters than species within a genus.
Plant family: Solanaceae (Solanum, Petunia, Datura). Animal family: Felidae (genus Panthera + genus Felis, i.e. big cats and cats).
Order comes just above family. Related families are grouped into an order — for example, families Felidae and Canidae are both placed in the order Carnivora.
Look for the endings. Plant families often end in '-aceae' (Anacardiaceae, Solanaceae). Animal families often end in '-idae' (Muscidae, Equidae, Felidae, Canidae).
NEET regularly asks match-the-column questions on classification (housefly, mango, horse). Knowing that family sits above genus, plus common family names and endings, lets you solve these quickly and avoid the rank-mixing trap.
