Origins of Eukaryotic Diversity
Overview: AWorld in a Drop of Water ? In the past, taxonomists classified all protists in a single kingdom, Protista. ? However, it is now clear that Protista is in fact paraphyletic. ? Some protists are more closely related to plants, fungi, or animals than they are to other protists. ? As a result, the kingdom Protista has been abandoned. ? Various lineages are recognized as kingdoms in their own right. ? Scientists still use the convenient term protist informally to refer to eukaryotes that are not plants, animals, or fungi. Concept 28.1 Protists are an extremely diverse assortment of eukaryotes ? Protists exhibit more structural and functional diversity than any other group of organisms.