The Five Kingdoms
All living things can be grouped into five categories. This is called the five kingdom proposal and was introduced by Robert Whittaker in 1968 as a way to categorise all organisms.
Living organisms are divided into five kingdoms:
- Prokaryotae
- Protoctista
- Fungi
- Plantae
- Animalia
Prokaryotae
- Unicellular and Microscopic.
- Non-membrane bound (no nuclear membrane, no ER, no mitochondia).
- Cell wall made of murein.
- Examples: Bacteria or Cyanobacteria (photosynthesising bacteria).
Protoctista
- Mainly small eukaryotic organisms.
- Many live in aquatic environments.
- This is usually the kingdom where organisms which aren't animals, plants or fungi go.
- Examples: Algae, slime moulds and the malaria causing Plasmodium.
Fungi
- Eukaryotic
- Multicellular
- Cell wall made of chitin.
- The members of this kingdom don't possess photosynthetic pigments and are therefore heterotrophic.
- Examples: Mushroom, Mold, Puffball
Plantae
- Eukaryotic
- Multicellular
- Cell wall made of cellulose.
- Members of the plantae group contain photosynthetic pigment and gain their energy through it and are therefore autotrophic.
Animalia
- Eukaryotic
- Multicellular
- Heterotropic
- The members of this kingdom can be split into two groups, vertebrates and invertebrates. The diagram below shows the different subsections of the animalia
The vertebrate subsection of the animalia kingdom can be split again into five different sections:
- Fish
- Amphibians
- Reptiles
- Birds
- Mammals
| Kingdom | Number of Cells | Type of Cells | How they gain their energy? | Do they move? | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prokaryotae | Unicellular | Prokaryotic | Some Heterotrophic, Some Autotrophic | Some | Bacteria, Cyanobacteria |
| Protoctista | Mainly Unicellular | Eukaryotic | Some Heterotrophic, Some Autotrophic | Some | Amoeba |
| Fungi | Multicellular | Eukaryotic | Heterotrophic | Mainly not | Mushroom, Mold, Puffball |
| Plantae | Multicellular | Eukaryotic | Autotrophic | No | Trees, Flowering Plants |
| Animalia | Multicellular | Eukaryotic | Heterotrophic | Yes | Bird, Human, Cow |
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