Severalmnemonics are used to memorizethe hierarchical order oftaxons used inbiological taxonomy. Such mnemonics are usually constructed with a series of words that begin with the lettersKPCOFGS, corresponding to the initials of the primary taxonomic ranks. Words beginning withD (corresponding to "domain") are sometimes added to the beginning of the sequence; words beginning withS (corresponding to "subspecies") are sometimes added at the end of the sequence.
One common mnemonic is "King Philip Came Over From Great Spain."[1][2] A variant (recorded as early as 2002) that adds a letter fordomain is "Dear King Phillip [sic] Came Over From Great Spain."[3]
| Mnemonic | Common prefix | Taxon |
|---|---|---|
| Dear | D | Domain |
| King | King | Kingdom |
| Philip | Ph | Phylum |
| Came | C | Class |
| Over | O | Order |
| From | F | Family |
| Great | G | Genus |
| Spain | Sp | Species |
Possibly earlier variations (both recorded in print from 1977) are "King Philip came over for grandma's suitcase"[4] and "King Philip came over forginger snaps."[5] Many other variations on the final two words exist: "grape soda," "good spaghetti,"[6] "golf sticks,"[7] etc.
Other published mnemonics include:
Botanical taxonomy uses the rank ofdivision in place ofphylum. Some botany mnemonics follow one of the "King Philip" variants, withDavid in place of Philip.[7]
You can remember this by remembering that King Philip Came Over From Great Spain. I'm not sure why this is easier, who King Philip was, why he came over, or where exactly Great Spain is; but that's what my ninth-grade teacher told me, and I've remembered it ever since.
In elementary school, you probably memorized 'King Philip Came Over From Great Spain' or one of its dirtier equivalents to remember basic taxonomic rank: kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species.
Just remember 'King David came over for golf sticks' to recall kingdom, division, class, order, family, genus, species.