Eukarya Kingdoms

Eukarya Kingdoms

Fungi

Plantae

Animalia

Organisms that belong in the Kingdom Protista are for the most part unicellular, while some are multicellular. Protists are either heterotrophs or autotrophs and all of them contain nuclei. Protists are classified into three groups: plant- like, fungus- like, and animal- like. Protists reproduce differntly depending on phylums. Green algae and slime molds are examples of protists.

slime mold

Vascular plants are organisms that have special tissues that can transport water and other materials around their bodies. Ferns and flowering plants are vascular.

Nonvascular plants are plants without a vascular system. They have tissues that can transport water, but they are less complex. Examples are mosses and hornworts.

a vascular fern

a nonvascular moss

Organisms from the Kingdom Fungi are eukaryotic heterotrophs. These organisms are either unicellular or multicellular and usually decompose organic material. The cell walls of fungi normally contain chitin. Fungi reproduce sexually as well as asexually. Examples of some fungi are mushrooms and yeast .

fly amanita

Animals are heterotrophic eukaryotes that are multicellular. These organisms do not have cell walls and reproduce sexually. Some animals have backbones while others do not. The phylum Anthropoda is very large with over 750,000 species that have been discovered. Anthropods are invertebrates that have appendages, an exoskeleton, and a segmented body. These organisms are found on land and in the ocean. Insects, spiders, and crustaceans are all anthropods. Over the ages, anthropods have evolved to develope fewer body segments and highly adapted appendeges for life functions. Anthropods are very ancient. Mammals, on the other hand, are vertebrates that evolved in the late Triassic Period. A mammal is characterized by a four chambered heart, hair, and a mammary gland. Mammary glands, which are in females, produce milk to nourish a mammals young. Examples of mammals are killer whales and golden lion tamarins.

Members of the Kingdom Plantae are photosynthetic autotrophs that are multicellular and eukaryotic. Plants are nonmobile and have cellulose in their cell walls. Plants reproduce sexually. Examples of plants are pine trees and sea kelp.

golden lion tamarin

sally lightfoot crab

Protista

Cylamydomonas

killer whale

By Lathan Verwoerdt