Below I will include an example of the classification of a Bottlenose Dolphin also known as Tursiops truncatus.

 

Kingdom - Animalia

 

The Tursiops truncatus belong in the animalia Kingdom because they are eukaryotic, multicellular and heterotrophic (obtain food from outside sources because they cannot make their own food)

 

Phylum - Chordata

 

They fall under the chordata phylum because they have a backbone that develops throughout their development which also makes them vertebrates.

 

Class - Mammalia

 

They are mammals because they use their lungs to breathe and they are warm blooded.

 

Order - Cetacea

Cetacea is an order where aquatic mammals that have forelimbs used as flippers, a flattened tail, and no back limbs. Cetaceans include all whales, dolphins and porpoises.

 

Family - Delphinidae

Taxonomists group most dolphins in the Delphinidae family,Delphinids include well known dolphins as bottlenose dolphins and common dolphins as well as pilot whales and killer whales.

 

Genus - Tursiops

Tursiops, means "dolphinlike," comes from the Latin word Tursio for "dolphin" and the Greek suffix –ops for "appearance". So that is why Dolphins fall under this particular genus.

 

Species  - Truncatus

The term truncatus means shortened or cut-off  referencing this species of dolphins because of their stubby rostrum (snout).