THE SIX KINGDOMS

When Linnaeus developed his system of classification, there were only two kingdoms,Plants and
Animals. But the use of the microscope led to the discovery of new organisms and the identification of
differences in cells. A two-kingdom system was no longer useful.
Today the system of classification includes six kingdoms.

THE SIX KINGDOMS:

Plants, Animals, Protists, Fungi, Archaebacteria, Eubacteria.

PLANTS AND ANIMALS

How are organism placed into their kingdoms?
Cell type, complex or simple
Their ability to make food
The number of cells in their body

PLANTS
You are probably quite familiar with the members of this kingdom as it contains all the plants that you
have come to know - flowering plants, mosses, and ferns. Plants are all multicellular and consist of
complex cells.

In addition plants are autotrophs, organisms that make their own food.

With over 250,000 species, the plant kingdom is the second largest kingdom. Plant species range
from the tiny green mosses to giant trees.
Without plants, life on Earth would not exist! Plants feed almost all the heterotrophs (organisms that
eat other organisms) on Earth. Wow!

ANIMALS
The animal kingdom is the largest kingdom with over 1 million known species.

Sumatran Tiger
Sumatran Tiger - Kingdom: Animalia, Phylum, Chordata, Class Mammalia, Order Carnivora, Family
Felidae, Genus Pathera, Species tigris

Robin Eating a Berry

All animals consist of many complex cells. They are also heterotrophs.

Members of the animal kingdom are found in the most diverse environments in the world.

ARCHAEBACTERIA
In 1983, scientists tool samples from a spot deep in the Pacific Ocean where hot gases and molten
rock boiled into the ocean form the Earths interior. To their surprise they discovered unicellular (one
cell) organisms in the samples. These organisms are today classified in the kingdom, Archaebacteria.

Archaebacteria are found in extreme environments such as hot boiling water and thermal vents under
conditions with no oxygen or highly acid environments.

Finding Archaebacteria: The hot springs of Yellowstone National Park, USA, were among the first places
Archaebacteria were discovered. The biologists pictured above are immersing microscope slides in the
boiling pool onto which some archaebacteria might be captured for study.

EUBACTERIA
Like archaebacteria, eubacteria are complex and single celled. Most bacteria are in the EUBACTERIA
kingdom. They are the kinds found everywhere and are the ones people are most familiar with.
Salmonella enteriditis

Eubacteria are classified in their own kingdom because their chemical makeup is different.
Most eubacteria are helpful. Some produce vitamins and foods like yogurt. However, these
eubacteria, Streptococci pictured above, can give you strep throat!

FUNGI
Mushrooms, mold and mildew are all examples of organisms in the kingdom fungi.

Most fungi are multicellular and consists of many complex cells.

Fun Facts about Fungi

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Some fungi taste great and others can kill you!

Fungi are organisms that biologists once confused with plants, however, unlike plants, fungi cannot
make their own food. Most obtain their food from parts of plants that are decaying in the soil.

PROTISTS
Slime molds and algae are protists.
Sometimes they are called the odds and ends kingdom because its members are so different from one
another. Protists include all microscopic organisms that are not bacteria, not animals, not plants and
not fungi.

Most protists are unicellular. You may be wondering why those protists are not classified in the
Archaebacteria or Eubacteria kingdoms.

It is because, unlike bacteria, protists are complex cells.

These delicate looking diatoms are classified in the protist kingdom.

Sortable table
This table has the advantage of being sortable. The terminology differs in places from the above descriptions. Also, by
listing living species only for most phyla, those with huge fossil records (like Bryozoa and Brachiopods) are lower in the
order despite being important aquatic forms in the Palaeozoic era.
Phylum Meaning Common name Distinguishing characteristic Species described
Acanthocephala Thorny headed Thorny-headed Reversible spiny proboscis. Now usually included 756 extant (= living)
worms worms in Rotifera.
Acoelomorpha Without gut Acoels No mouth or alimentary canal (alimentary canal =
digestive tract in digestive system)
Annelida Little ring Segmented worms Multiple circular segment 17,000+ extant
Arthropoda Jointed foot Arthropods Chitin exoskeleton 1,134,000+
Brachiopoda Arm foot Lamp shells Lophophore and pedicle 300-500 extant
Bryozoa Moss animals Moss animals, sea Lophophore, no pedicle, ciliated tentacles 5,000 extant
mats
Chaetognatha Longhair jaw Arrow worms Chitinous spines either side of head, fins 100 extant
Chordata With a cord Chordates Hollow dorsal nerve cord, notochord, pharyngeal 100,000+
slits, endostyle, post-anal tail
Cnidaria Stinging nettle Coelenterates Nematocysts (stinging cells) 11,000
Ctenophora Comb bearer Comb jellies Eight "comb rows" of fused cilia 100 extant
Cycliophora Wheel carrying Symbion Circular mouth surrounded by small cilia 3+
Echinodermata Spiny skin Echinoderms Fivefold radial symmetry in living 7,000 extant; approx.
forms, mesodermal calcified spines 13,000 extinct
Entoprocta Inside anus Goblet worm Anus inside ring of cilia 150
Gastrotricha Hair stomach Meiofauna Two terminal adhesive tubes 690
Gnathostomulida Jaw orifice Jaw worms 100
Hemichordata Half cord Acorn worms, Stomochord in collar, pharyngeal slits 100 extant
pterobranchs
Kinorhyncha Motion snout Mud dragons Eleven segments, each with a dorsal plate 150
Loricifera Corset bearer Brush heads Umbrella-like scales at each end 122
Micrognathozoa Tiny jaw Accordion-like extensible thorax. Newly 1
animals discovered; close to Rotifers.
Mollusca Soft Mollusks / molluscs Muscular foot and mantle round shell 112,000[11]
Nematoda Thread like Round worms Round cross section, keratin cuticle 80,0001,000,000
Nematomorpha Thread form Horsehair worms 320
Nemertea A sea nymph Ribbon worms 1,200
Onychophora Claw bearer Velvet worms Legs tipped by chitinous claws 200 extant
Orthonectida Straight swim Single layer of ciliated cells surrounding a mass of 20
sex cells
Phoronida Zeus's mistress Horseshoe worms U-shaped gut 11
Placozoa Plate animals 1
Platyhelminthes Flat worms Flat worms 25,000[12]
Porifera* Pore bearer Sponges Perforated interior wall 5,000+ extant
Priapulida Little Priapus 16
Rhombozoa Lozenge animal Single axial cell form front to bak, surrounded by 75
ciliated cells
Rotifera Wheel bearer Rotifers crown of cilia at front 2,000
Sipuncula Small tube Peanut worms Mouth surrounded by invertible tentacles 144320
Tardigrada Slow step Water bears Four segmented body and head 1,000+
Xenoturbellida Strange Ciliated deuterostome 2
flatworm
Total: 35 2,000,000+
Protostome Bilateria
Deuterostome
Basal/disputed
Others (Radiata or Parazoa)

Division Meaning Common name Distinguishing characteristics

Anthocerotophyta[19] Anthoceros-like plants hornworts horn-shaped sporophytes, no vascular system
Bryophyta[20] Bryum-like plants, moss mosses persistent unbranched sporophytes, no vascular
plants system
Marchantiophyta,[21] Marchantia-like plants liverworts ephemeral unbranched sporophytes, no vascular
system
Hepatophyta[20] liver plants
Lycopodiophyta,[17] Lycopodium-like plants clubmosses & microphyll leaves, vascular system
 spikemosses
Lycophyta [22]
"wolf" plants
Pteridophyta[citation needed] Pteris-like plants, fern plants ferns & horsetails prothallus gametophytes, vascular system
Pinophyta,[citation needed] Pinus-like plants conifers cones containing seeds and wood composed of
tracheids
Coniferophyta[23] cone-bearing plants
Cycadophyta[24] Cycas-like plants, palm-like cycads seeds, crown of compound leaves
plants
Ginkgophyta[25] Ginkgo-like plants ginkgo, Maidenhair tree seeds not protected by fruit (single living
species)
Gnetophyta[26] Gnetum-like plants gnetophytes seeds and woody vascular system with vessels
Magnoliophyta Magnolia-like plants flowering plants, flowers and fruit, vascular system with vessels
angiosperms
Total: 10

Plant Kingdom
(or Plantae)

Virtually all other living creatures depend on plants to survive. Through photosynthesis, plants convert energy from sunlight into
food stored as carbohydrates. Because animals cannot get energy directly from the sun, they must eat plants (or other animals
that have had a vegetarian meal) to survive. Plants also provide the oxygen humans and animals breathe, because plants use
carbon dioxide for photosynthesis and release oxygen into the atmosphere.

Plants are found on land, in oceans, and in fresh water. They have been on Earth for millions of years. Plants were on Earth
before animals and currently number about 260,000 species. Three features distinguish plants from animals:

Plants have chlorophyll, a green pigment necessary for photosynthesis;

Their cell walls are made sturdy by a material called cellulose; and

They are fixed in one place (they dont move).

Plant Classification

In order to study the billions of different organisms living on earth, biologists have sorted and classified them based on their
similarities and differences. This system of classification is also called a taxonomy and usually features both English and Latin
names for the different divisions.

All plants are included in one so-called kingdom (Kingdom Plantae), which is then broken down into smaller and smaller
divisions based on several characteristics, including:
 Whether they can circulate fluids (like rainwater) through their bodies or need to absorb them from the moisture that
surrounds them;

How they reproduce (e.g., by spores or different kinds of seeds); and

Their size or stature.

The majority of the 260,000 plant species are flowering herbs. To describe all plant species, the following divisions (or phyla) are
most commonly used to sort them. The first grouping is made up of plants that are non-vascular; they cannot circulate rainwater
through their stems and leaves but must absorb it from the environment that surrounds them. The remaining plant species are
all vascular (they have a system for circulating fluids). This larger group is then split into two groups: one that reproduces from
spores rather than seeds, and the other that reproduces from seeds.

Non-Vascular Plants

Mosses and allies, or related species (Bryophyta and allies)

Mosses or bryophyta are non-vascular. They are an important foundation plant for the forest ecosystem and they help prevent
erosion by carpeting the forest floor. All bryophyte species reproduce by spores not seeds, never have flowers, and are found
growing on the ground, on rocks, and on other plants.

Originally grouped as a single division or phylum, the 24,000 bryophyte species are now grouped in three divisions:
Mosses (Bryophyta), Liverworts (Hepatophyta), and Hornworts (Anthocerotophyta). Also included among the non-vascular plants
is Chlorophyta, a kind of fresh-water algae.

Vascular Plants with Spores

Ferns and allies (Pteridophyta and allies)

Unlike mosses, ferns and related species have a vascular system, but like mosses, they reproduce from spores rather than
seeds. The ferns are the most plentiful plant division in this group, with 12,000 species. Other divisions (the fern allies)
include Club mosses or Lycopods (Lycopodiophyta) with 1,000 species, Horsetails (Equisetophyta) with 40 species, and Whisk
ferns (Psilophyta) with 3 species.

Vascular Plants with Seeds

Conifers and allies (Coniferophyta and allies)

Conifers and allies (Coniferophyta and allies) Conifers reproduce from seeds, but unlike plants like blueberry bushes or flowers
where the fruit or flower surrounds the seed, conifer seeds (usually cones) are naked. In addition to havingcones, conifers are
trees or shrubs that never have flowers and that have needle-like leaves. Included among conifers are about 600 species
including pines, firs, spruces, cedars, junipers, and yew. The conifer allies include three small divisions with fewer than 200
species all together: Ginko (Ginkophyta) made up of a single species, the maidenhair tree; the palm-like Cycads (Cycadophyta),
and herb-like plants that bear cones (Gnetophyta) such as Mormon tea.

Flowering Plants (Magnoliophyta)

The vast majority of plants (around 230,000) belong to this category, including most trees, shrubs, vines, flowers, fruits,
vegetables, and legumes. Plants in this category are also called angiosperms. They differ from conifers because they grow their
seeds inside an ovary, which is embedded in a flower or fruit.

Kingdom
Generally, scientists agree there are six kingdoms. The animal kingdom (called Kingdom Animalia) is just one of
those. In case you're interested, the others are Achaebacteria, Eubacteria, Protists, Fungi and Plants. Originally,
Linnaeus only identified two kingdoms: plant and animal. Some scientists think that viruses should have their own
kingdom, but currently they are not included under this system.
Phylum
Within the animal kingdom, the animals are divided into more than 30 phyla (which is the plural of "phylum"). You
might be interested in Phylum Chordata it's the one humans and all animals with backbones are in (do you see
how "chordata" looks like the word "cord" like spinal cord?). Phylum Arthropoda contains insects, spiders and
other animals with segmented bodies, like shrimp. Arthropods have their skeletons on the outside of their bodies
(think of the hard shell of a lobster) and other characteristics in common.
Class
The third level of classification is class. For example, Phylum Chordata has classes in it like birds, mammals
(Mammalia) and reptiles.
Order
The next level, or rank, is order. Orders are smaller groups within the different classes. Lepidoptera is the order of
moths and butterflies. Carnivora is the order within Mammalia that has the most diversity in animal size.
Family
The fifth rank of classification is family. (When you get to this rank, people sometimes disagree about which family
an animal belongs to, so you may find that different sources tell you different things. This can even happen with
orders.) The family for dogs is Canidae.
Genus
This rank looks like "genius," doesn't it? It's the second-to-last rank, and a genus may have only one or two
animals in it. If animals are in the same genus, they are really closely related. In fact, you may not be able to tell
them apart just by looking at them! When we write the name of the genus, we capitalize it and italicize it. For
example, the genus of dogs (and wolves, too!) is Canis.
Species
If animals can breed together successfully, they are a species. When an animal is called by its scientific name,
then that means it is being identified by its genus and species. We use a lowercase letter and italics for the
species. The scientific name of dogs is Canis familiaris; however, the scientific name of wolves is Canis lupus.
Binomial nomenclature
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"Latin name" redirects here. For personal names in the Roman Empire, see Roman naming conventions.

For the system used for voting, see Binomial voting system.

Binomial nomenclature (also called binominal nomenclature or binary nomenclature) is a formal system of
naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin grammatical forms,
although they can be based on words from other languages. Such a name is called abinomial name (which may be
shortened to just "binomial"), a binomen or a scientific name; more informally it is also called a Latin name. The first
part of the name identifies the genus to which the species belongs; the second part identifies the species within the genus.
For example, humans belong to the genus Homoand within this genus to the species Homo sapiens.
The formal introduction of this system of naming species is credited to Swedish natural scientist Carl Linnaeus(author
abbrv. L.), effectively beginning with his work Species Plantarum in 1753.[1] But Gaspard Bauhin, in as early as 1623, had
introduced in his book Pinax theatri botanici (English, Illustrated exposition of plants) many names of genera that were
later adopted by Linnaeus.[2]

The application of binomial nomenclature is now governed by various internationally agreed codes of rules, of which the
two most important are the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) for animals and the International Code
of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants (ICN). Although the general principles underlying binomial nomenclature are
common to these two codes, there are some differences, both in the terminology they use and in their precise rules.

In modern usage, the first letter of the first part of the name, the genus, is always capitalized in writing, while that of the
second part is not, even when derived from aproper noun such as the name of a person or place. Similarly, both parts are
italicized when a binomial name occurs in normal text. Thus the binomial name of the annual phlox (named after
botanist Thomas Drummond) is now written as Phlox drummondii.

In scientific works, the "authority" for a binomial name is usually given, at least when it is first mentioned, and the date of
publication may be specified.

In zoology

"Patella vulgata Linnaeus, 1758". The name "Linnaeus" tells the reader who it was that first published a
description and name for this species of limpet; 1758 is the date of the publication in which the original description
can be found (in this case the 10th edition of the book Systema Naturae).

"Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758)". The original name given by Linnaeus was Fringilla domestica; the
parentheses indicate that the species is now considered to belong in a different genus. The ICZN does not require
that the name of the person who changed the genus be given, nor the date on which the change was made,
although nomenclatorial catalogs usually include such information.

In botany

"Amaranthus retroflexus L." "L." is the standard abbreviation used in botany for "Linnaeus".

"Hyacinthoides italica (L.) Rothm. Linnaeus first named this bluebell species Scilla italica; Rothmaler
transferred it to the genus Hyacinthoides; the ICN does not require that the dates of either publication be
specified.