There are 7 major hierarchies, or ranks, in animal classification. The levels are 1) Kingdom, 2) Phylum, 3) Class, 4) Order, 5) Family, 6) Genus, and 7) Species.
Kingdom is the highest and most inclusive rank. Phylum is the rank below kingdom, so it include most animals when compared to genus, order and class.
Species is the most fundamental rank.