Six Kingdoms of Living Things Carl Linnaeus developed a system of classification based on two kingdoms: plants and animals The use of the microscope lead to the discovery of new organisms Today, organisms are classified by their type of cells, their ability to make food, and the number of cells in their bodies into one of six kingdoms

Kingdom Archaebacteria Archaebacteria means “ancient bacteria” They are unicellular, prokaryotes(cells that lack a nucleus), can be either autotrophic or heterotrophic Archaebacteria can live in extreme environments like hot springs or deep in the ocean, some even live in your intestines

Kingdom Eubacteria Eubacteria look similar to Archaebacteria, however they are classified differently because they have a different chemical makeup They are also unicellular, prokaryotes, that can be either autotrophic or heterotrophic Eubacteria include the kinds of bacteria that cause strep throat, produce yogurt, and recycle nitrogen

Kingdom Protista Called Protists, this kingdom is often referred to as the “odds & ends” kingdom because its members are so different from each other Most protists are unicellular and can be either autotrophs or heterotrophs Protists are eukaryotes (have a nuclei in their cell(s) Some examples are seaweed, paramecium, and amoeba

Kingdom Fungi Mushrooms, molds, and mildew are all fungi Organisms belonging to kingdom fungi are mostly multicellular (yeast is one of the few kingdom fungi members that is unicellular), eukaryotes, heterotrophs Mostly decomposers (live on dead or decaying organisms) Found in moist areas (need water to reproduce and grow)

Kingdom Plantae Plants are multicellular eukaryotes They are autotrophs that make their own food through the process of photosynthesis Found almost everywhere and supply other organisms with food and oxygen Plants feed almost all heterotrophs on the planet and include everything from dandelions and mosses to trees and tomatoes

Kingdom Animalia All animals are multicellular eukaryotes Animals are hetertrophs that have different adaptations that allow them to locate food, capture it, eat it, and digest it Most animals reproduce sexually

Classification The organisms that belong to kingdoms are then divided further into phyla What kinds of traits might help scientists to divide organisms in kingdom aniamlia into smaller groups?

Seven Levels There are seven levels of classification, in each level the amount of organisms gets smaller and smaller until at last, all organisms belonging to the same species are left in their own group (remember that the definition of a species is organisms that can mate and have fertile offspring) These seven levels are kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, species A pneumonic device for this is Kings Play Chess On Fine Grained Sand or… King Phillip Came Over From Great Spain.