Characteristics of the Kingdoms of Life

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering the characteristics, major phyla, structures, and representative organisms of the Kingdoms of Life (Monera, Protista, Fungi, Plantae, and Animalia).

Kingdom Monera

Single-celled

Prokaryotic

Have cell walls

Some are heterotrophic by absorption (e.g., bacteria), and some are autotrophic (e.g., blue-green algae).

Kingdom Protista

Single Celled

Eukaryotic

Paramecium

A single-celled eukaryotic protist that is heterotrophic by ingestion and uses cilia for locomotion.

Amoeba

A single-celled eukaryotic protist that is heterotrophic by ingestion and uses pseudopods for ingestion and locomotion.

Euglena

A single-celled eukaryotic protist that is autotrophic and uses a flagellum for locomotion.

Kingdom Fungi

A kingdom of eukaryotic, multicellular organisms with cell walls that are heterotrophic by absorption; key features include hyphae, mycelium, sporangium, and spores.

Kingdom Plantae

A kingdom of eukaryotic, multicellular, and autotrophic organisms that have cell walls.

Phylum Bryophyta

A plant phylum (e.g., moss) characterized by having no vascular tissue and producing spores.

Phylum Pterophyta

A plant phylum (e.g., ferns) characterized by having vascular tissue and producing spores.

Phylum Coniferophyta

A plant phylum (e.g., pines and firs) characterized by having vascular tissue, being seed-producing, and having seeds protected in cones.

Phylum Anthophyta

A plant phylum (e.g., roses, flowers, vegetables, fruits, shrubs, trees, grasses) characterized by having vascular tissue, being seed-producing with seeds protected by fruit, and having reproductive organs in flowers.

Kingdom Animalia

A kingdom of eukaryotic, multicellular organisms that are heterotrophic by ingestion.

Phylum Porifera

An animal phylum (e.g., sponges) characterized by sessile organisms that are filter feeders.

Phylum Cnidaria

An animal phylum (e.g., corals, anemones, jellyfish) that includes both sessile and mobile forms and captures food with specialized stinging cells.

Phylum Platyhelminthes

An animal phylum (e.g., tapeworms, flukes, planaria) where some members are parasitic (e.g., tapeworms and flukes) and some are not parasitic (e.g., planaria).

Phylum Annelida

An animal phylum (e.g., earthworms, leeches) characterized by having a coelom and a segmented body.

Phylum Mollusca

An animal phylum (e.g., clams, snails, slugs, octopus, squid) characterized by having a coelom and a mantle.

Phylum Arthropoda

An animal phylum (e.g., insects, spiders, millipedes, lobsters, crayfish, flies) characterized by having an exoskeleton, jointed appendages, a coelom, and a segmented body.

Phylum Echinodermata

An animal phylum (e.g., starfish, sea urchins, sea cucumbers, sand dollars) characterized by "spiny skin", five-fold symmetry, and having a coelom.

Phylum Chordata

An animal phylum (e.g., amphioxus, fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals) characterized by having a dorsal nerve cord, notochord, pharyngeal gill slits, and a coelom.