Define a taxon. What is meant by taxonomic hierarchy? Give a flow diagram from the lowest to highest category for a plant and an animal. What happens to the number of individuals and the number of shared characters as we go up the taxonomic hierarchy?

(N/A) $\rightarrow$ Taxon: $A$ taxon is a scientific term used to represent any rank or level in the classification system.
$\rightarrow$ Taxonomic Hierarchy: Taxonomic hierarchy is the arrangement of various taxonomic categories in an ascending order,which describes the systematic position of any living organism.
$\rightarrow$ Flow Diagram (Lowest to Highest):
Species $\rightarrow$ Genus $\rightarrow$ Family $\rightarrow$ Order $\rightarrow$ Class $\rightarrow$ Phylum (for animals) / Division (for plants) $\rightarrow$ Kingdom.
$\rightarrow$ Example:
- Plant: $Solanum$ $tuberosum$ (Species) $\rightarrow$ $Solanum$ (Genus) $\rightarrow$ Solanaceae (Family) $\rightarrow$ Polymoniales (Order) $\rightarrow$ Dicotyledonae (Class) $\rightarrow$ Angiospermae (Division) $\rightarrow$ Plantae (Kingdom).
- Animal: $Panthera$ $leo$ (Species) $\rightarrow$ $Panthera$ (Genus) $\rightarrow$ Felidae (Family) $\rightarrow$ Carnivora (Order) $\rightarrow$ Mammalia (Class) $\rightarrow$ Chordata (Phylum) $\rightarrow$ Animalia (Kingdom).
$\rightarrow$ Trends as we go up the hierarchy:
$1$. Number of individuals: Increases.
$2$. Number of shared characters: Decreases.