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

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Example of Kingdom Protista - Paramecium caudatum

Kingdom: Protozoa
Phylum: Ciliophora
Class: Ciliatea
Order: Hymenostomatida
Family: Parameciidae
Genus: Paramecium
Species: Paramecium caudatum

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Example of Kingdom Protista - Stemonitis fusca

Scientific Name: Stemonitis fusca

Common Name: Slime mold

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Summary of K.Protista

Characteristics of the Protista Kingdom

1. Eukaryotes
2. Heterotrophic and Autotrophic
3. Unicellular
4. Mostly aquatic
5. Mostly asexual
6. Motile and nonmotile

Example: Protozoa, slime molds and algae

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