Kingdom Protista
- Mostly Unicellular, Some are multicellular (algae)
- can be both heterotrophic or autotrophic
- Mostly living in water (some live in moist soil or in human body)
- ALL are eukaryotic, simplest of the eukaryotes
- Protista = "The very first"
- Unusual group of organisms put together because they don't really seem to belong to any other group. - Home for 'leftover' organisms
- Both micro and macroscopic
The protozoa:
Phylum Ciliophora (8,000 sp.,) Blepharisma, Paramecium
Phylum Sarcodina (over 300 sp.) - Amoeba, radiolaria, foraminifera
Phylum Sporozoa (3,900 sp.) - Plasmodium
The algae:
Phylum Phaeophyta (1,500 species, fr. Greek phaios = brown) - Fucus
Phylum Rhodophyta (fr. Greek rhodos = red, 4,000 sp.) - Polysiphonia
Phylum Bacillariophyta (11,500 sp., many more fossil sp., fr. Latin bacillus = little stick) - diatoms
Phylum Euglenophyta (800 sp.) - Euglena
Phylum Pyrrophyta (3,000 sp., fr. Greek dinos = whirling, Latin flagellum = whip) - dinoflagellates, Ceratium
Phylum Chlorophyta (7,000 sp., fr. Greek chloros = yellow-green) - Volvox, Spirogyra, Chlamydomonas
Example of Kingdom Protista - Coleps amphacanthus
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Protozoa
Subkingdom: Biciliata
Infrakingdom: Alveolata
Phylum: Ciliophora
Subphylum: Intramacronucleata
Class: Ciliatea
Order: Gymnostomatida
Family: Colepidae
Genus: Coleps
Specific Descriptor: amphacanthus
Scientfic Name: Coleps amphacanthus
Example of Kingdom Protista - Paramecium caudatum
Kingdom: Protozoa
Phylum: Ciliophora
Class: Ciliatea
Order: Hymenostomatida
Family: Parameciidae
Genus: Paramecium
Species: Paramecium caudatum
Example of Kingdom Protista - Stemonitis fusca
Scientific Name: Stemonitis fusca
Common Name: Slime mold
Summary of K.Protista
Characteristics of the Protista Kingdom
- Eukaryotes
- Heterotrophic and Autotrophic
- Unicellular
- Mostly aquatic
- Mostly asexual
- Motile and nonmotile
Example: Protozoa, slime molds and algae