Kingdoms

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 andthe 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. |
| How are organism placed into their kingdoms?        Cell type, complex or simple        Their ability to make food        The number of cells in their body |PlantsYou 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 andconsist 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 rangefrom 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! |AnimalsThe animal kingdom is the largest kingdom with over 1 million known species.Sumatran Tiger - Kingdom: Animalia, Phylum, Chordata, Class Mammalia, Order Carnivora, Family Felidae, Genus Pathera,Species tigris | 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. |
ArchaebacteriaIn 1983,scientists tool samples from a spot deep in the Pacific Ocean where hot gases and molten rock boiled into the ocean form the Earth’s 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...