Question

1. Are animals put in their genus based off physical appearance?

If yes for the top question then:
2. Can 2 species be in a genus despite not being related at all?

Answer 1

I am going to be honest, I think it’s kind of off of appearance.
For example, Honey Badgers. They aren’t related to other Badgers like the Asian Badger. They are more related to Mongooses or something like them I believe. They were just named Badger because they look similar.
It happens in several cases, animals can end up in the same Genus, but are more related to other animals then the same Genus.

Answer 2

I'm pretty sure that its more than just there physical appearance

Step-by-step explanation:

because there is there genes which is very similar to genus and I am not 100% certain on this but, I believe that animals are placed in their genus by their biological relation to each other