Kingdom Protista

King­dom Pro­tista

• Gen­er­al Char­ac­ter­is­tics:
  • All sin­gle-celled eukary­otes
  • Pri­mar­i­ly aquat­ic
  • Serve as a link between king­doms Plan­tae, Ani­malia, and Fun­gi
  • Cell struc­ture:
    • Well-defined nucle­us
    • Mem­brane-bound organelles
  • Move­ment: Some pos­sess fla­gel­la or cil­ia
  • Repro­duc­tion: Asex­u­al and sex­u­al (cell fusion and zygote for­ma­tion)
• Bound­aries:
  • Not well-defined; over­lap with oth­er king­doms (espe­cial­ly Plan­tae)
  • What one biol­o­gist con­sid­ers a pro­tist, anoth­er might clas­si­fy as a plant.
• Major Groups includ­ed in Pro­tista:
  • Chrys­o­phytes
  • Dinofla­gel­lates
  • Eug­le­noids
  • Slime molds
  • Pro­to­zoans