What are the 7 levels of classification for a whale?

There are actually 8 main levels of classification in the Linnaean system, not 7. Here's how it breaks down for a whale, taking the blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus) as an example:

1. Domain: Eukarya (organisms with complex cells)

2. Kingdom: Animalia (multicellular, heterotrophic organisms)

3. Phylum: Chordata (animals with a notochord, dorsal nerve cord, pharyngeal slits, and a post-anal tail)

4. Class: Mammalia (warm-blooded vertebrates with mammary glands, hair, and three middle ear bones)

5. Order: Cetacea (aquatic mammals with horizontal fluke tails, blowholes, and a streamlined body)

6. Suborder: Mysticeti (baleen whales with baleen plates instead of teeth)

7. Family: Balaenopteridae (rorquals, characterized by longitudinal grooves on their throats)

8. Genus: Balaenoptera (includes the fin whale, humpback whale, etc.)

9. Species: Balaenoptera musculus (the blue whale)

So, the 8 levels of classification for a blue whale are: Domain, Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Suborder, Family, Genus, and Species.