The Classification of

Living Organisms
The Five Kingdoms
 The Five Kingdom
Classification
of Living Organisms
It is generally agreed that all organisms
belong to one of five Kingdoms.

All the members of any one Kingdom

may look extremely different from one another

but all share certain significant features in common

which set them apart from the members of any
other Kingdom
 Prokaryotae

Bacteria and blue-green bacteria (or

cyanobacteria)
e.g. Spirillum, Staphylococcus
•Cells are prokaryotic (no nucleus, no organelles)
and very small (< 10 m)
•Cells have cell wall made of peptidoglycans/murein
•Autotrophic (chemosynthesis or photosynthesis)
and heterotrophic
 Protoctista

e.g. seaweeds

Plasmodium (the cause of

malaria),
Foraminiferans, Paramecium
Diatoms
Amoeba
Spirogyra alga Euglena

Trypanosoma
(the cause of sleeping sickness)
•Eukaryotic; unicellular and multicellular
•Autotrophic (e.g. seaweeds)
and heterotrophic (e.g. Plasmodium)

•Cells of some have cellulose walls (e.g.

seaweeds)
whilst cells of other do not (e.g. Plasmodium)
•Organisms are classed here if they
•do not fit into any other Kingdom
 Fungi

Moulds, yeasts, mushrooms

•Eukaryotic
•Heterotrophic
•Cells have walls made of chitin
(a type of glucose-based polymer with attached
amino acids, so different to cellulose)
•Some unicellular (e.g. yeasts) but usually body is a
multicellular (but often no separate cells, so more
accurately multinucleate)) mass (mycelium) of
thread-like filaments (hyphae)
•Reproduce by forming resistant spores
 Plantae

Mosses, ferns, flowering plants

•Eukaryotic
•Multicellular
•Complex body structures; specialised cells,
tissues, organs
•Autotrophic (photosynthesis)
•Cells have wall made of cellulose
•Have a complex life cycle with a sexually
reproducing adult stage and an asexually
reproducing adult stage
 Animalia

Sea anemones, earthworms, insects, snails, fish,

humans
•Eukaryotic
•Multicellular
•Complex body structures; specialised cells, tissues,
organs
•Heterotrophic; most have a gut (digestive
system)
•Cells lack cell walls
•Most are motile.
•Have a nervous system
•Embryo has a stage at which it is a hollow ball of
cells (the blastula)
Five Kingdoms
Prokaryotae
Protoctista
Fungi
Plantae
Animalia
 All necessary information is in Fig 5.15 on
page 13.
 Or Fig 5.15 can be accessed and printed from
the SNAB website (mediabank)

 It’s down to you!

Taxonomic groups: the 5 Kingdoms
 Phyla

Taxonomic
groups:
Major
phyla and
classes of
the Animal
Kingdom
Classes
[There are
actually 33
phyla!]
 All the animal phyla
 http://www.glaucus.org.uk/other.htm