Classification is the process by which anything is groupedinto convenient categories based on some easily observable characters.The scientific term for these categories is taxa. Here you must recognise that taxa can indicate categories at very different levels

✅ Clear Differences Between Taxon, Category, and Rank

🔍 NCERT-Based Insight

📌 “Animals”, “mammals”, and “dogs” are taxa — actual biological groups.

✔️ Each belongs to a category like Class or Genus.

🔼 Rank shows position in hierarchy: e.g., Class → Order → Family → Genus → Species.

✅ Human Example Showing All Three

🔁 In Simple Terms

Category / Rank = The level (like a “Shelf” in a library).

Taxon = The content on the shelf (actual group of organisms).

📌 NEET-Friendly Final Definitions

Taxon: A group of organisms that share common features and are assigned to a rank.
👉 “Mammalia” is a taxon under the category ‘Class’.

Category / Rank: A position or level in the taxonomic hierarchy used to classify organisms.
👉 “Class” is a taxonomic category or rank.

📊 Table: Examples Classified as Category vs Taxon