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Glite Dictionary
Protista

Protista

1 8.9
A mostly single-celled living thing with a nucleus, like protozoa or some algae, different from plants, animals and fungi
  • noun
  • /prəˈtɪstə/
  • Specialized
translation icon : protista
  • In biology class, we learned about the different kingdoms, particularly focusing on Protista and its unique characteristics.
  • the kingdom Protista

Examples

  • Scientists study Protista to better understand the diversity of eukaryotic life forms.

  • Although he had considered this possibility in 1959, Whittaker made the more conservative decision to include the bacteria as a subkingdom of the Protista.

    Academic text (2012)

  • The addition of Kingdom Protista to Whittaker's original three-kingdom scheme highlighted another major difference between his ecological approach and Copeland's taxonomic approach.

    Academic text (2012)

  • Similarly, although most textbook authors have abandoned the polyphyletic kingdom Protista, they continue to devote a chapter to "protists."

    Academic text (2012)

  • Despite misgivings about Whittaker's kingdom Protista, Curtis now endorsed the five-kingdom system as the best alternative for understanding the general contours of biodiversity.

    Academic text (2012)

  • He was now willing to relegate unicellular algae and cyanobacteria to his new kingdom, Protista, but Whittaker continued to place all multicellular producers in kingdom Plantae.

    Academic text (2012)

  • The Kingdom Protista includes various types of single-celled organisms, such as protozoa and some algae.

Synonyms

Protoctista
vsProtista
  • Archaic
9.9

A group of living things including single-celled creatures and algae, not plants or animals

is an alternative name for the same biological group
kingdom Protoctista
vsProtista
  • Specialized
9.6

A group of mainly single-celled living things like algae and protozoa that are not plants or animals

focuses on mostly single celled eukaryotes rather than on descendants
division Protista
vsProtista
  • Specialized
8.2

A group of mostly single-celled living things with cells that have a nucleus, like slime molds and some algae

uses the broader major group label rather than a rank-specific term

Compounds

division Protista
  • Specialized
8.2

A group of mostly single-celled living things with cells that have a nucleus, like slime molds and some algae

Surface Forms

Protista singular
Protistae plural

Morphology

Protista = protist (semi-transparent) = protist + a

Formed from 'protist' + the Latin/taxonomic suffix '-a' indicating the group, but the suffix's function is a specialized scientific naming convention not obvious to general learners.

Etymology

Protista comes from the Greek root protos meaning 'first', and you can see the same proto- in prototype. So Protista names the 'first' or simple living things; many are single-celled and do not fit with plants, animals, or fungi, which is why scientists put them in their own group.