Diversity of Modern Life
Kingdom Monera (“Monerans”)
• Smallest and simplest
lifeforms
• Unicellular (one-celled)
• no nucleus
• Bacteria and cyanobacteria
Bacteria
• Three basic shapes:
• round (cocci)
• rod (bacilli)
• spiral (spirilli)
Questions
• What are two characteristics of
the organisms in Kingdom
Monera?
• What is meant by unicellular?
• What are the three shapes of
bacteria?
Kingdom Protista(“Protists”)
• Single-celled or multicellular
• more complex than organisms
in Kingdom Monera
• nucleus
• protozoans (animal-like)
• algae (plant-like)
Protozoans
• Kingdom Protista
• no cell wall or chlorophyll
• internal digestion
• no locomotion (some)
Algae
• Cell walls
• Chlorophyll
• Photosynthetic
• Placed in groups according to
color and structure
Questions
• What are some characteristics
of Protists?
• What are the two types of
Protists?
• How are the two types of
Protists different?
Kingdom Fungi
• Multicellular; complex
• cell walls, no chlorophyll
• Threadlike fungi (bread mold)
• club fungi (mushrooms)
• sac fungi (yeast and mildew)
Questions
• What are some characteristics
of Fungi?
• What are the three groups of
fungi?
Kingdom Plantae
• Multicellular, cell walls, and
chlorophyll
• Largest and longest-living
things on Earth
• Vascular or Nonvascular
Nonvascular Plants
• CANNOT conduct water
• Example: Moss
• Moist environment
Vascular Plants
• CAN conduct water
• Capable of living in drier areas
• Club mosses, Ferns, Horsetails,
Gymnosperms, and
Angiosperms
Gymnosperms
• Seed plant
• name means “naked seed”
• Most are conifers
Angiosperms -Flowering Plants
• Seed plant
• name means “covered seed”
• Seeds are produced inside
ovaries
• A ripened ovary is a fruit
• largest/most diverse plants
Questions
• What is the major difference
between a gymnosperm and an
angiosperm?
• What are three plant
characteristics?
• How are vascular and non
vascular plants different?
Sponges (invertebrate)
• Simplest of the animal groups
• lives in salt water attached to
the bottom
• Hollow central cavity
• Two layers of body cells with
tiny pores
Coelenterates (invertebrate)
• Jellyfish, hydras, and corals
• two cell layers
• Live in water
• hollow body with a single
opening
Questions
• What are three similarities
between coelenterates and
sponges?
Flatworms (invertebrate)
• Flattened body; mostly
parasitic
• one body opening
• two eyespots (light detection)
• Turbellarians (free-living)
• Planarians (freshwater
Turbellarians)
Roundworms (invertebrate)
• Rounded shaped
• two body openings (eating and
waste expulsion)
• mostly free-living
• Ex: Nematodes and hookworms
Segmented Worms (invertebrate)
• Rounded, segmented bodies
• two body openings
• has five hearts and a brain
• Ex: leeches and marine tube
worms
Questions
• In what major way are the three
types of worms different?
• How are the segmented worms
MOST similar to the
roundworms?
Mollusks (invertebrate)
• Soft-bodies, no shell:
(octopus/squid)
• well-developed organs
• some with shells:
(clams/oysters)
Arthropods (invertebrate)
• Largest group of animals
• multiple body segments
• jointed appendages
(legs/arms)
• exoskeleton (hard outer
covering)
Arthropods (continued)
• Well-developed organs
• insects, lobsters, crabs, and
spiders
Echinoderms (invertebrate)
• Spiny skinned animals
• star fish (sea stars), sand
dollars, sea cucumbers
• flexible arms; tube feet
• known for regeneration (ability
to grow new body parts)
Questions
• What is the major similarity
between mollusks,
echinoderms, and arthropods?
• Which group of organisms are
known for regeneration?
• What is regeneration?
Questions
• What is the largest group of
animals?
• Describe an invertebrate.
• An octopus and a clam belong
to what group of invertebrates?
• How is an endoskelton different
from an exoskeleton?
Vertebrates
• Have backbones
• body with a head and most have
appendages
• endoskeleton (internal
skeleton for
support/protection)
Vertebrates (continued)
• Endotherm (warm- blooded);
these organisms can control
their body temperature from
within despite changes in the
environment
Vertebrates (continued)
• Ectotherm (cold-blooded); body
temperature changes with the
environment
Questions
• What is the difference between
an ectotherm and an
endotherm?
• How is a vertebrate different
from an invertebrate?
Jawless fishes
• Ex: Sea lamprey
• mouth is used for sucking
fluids; no appendages (fins)
• flexible skeleton made of
cartilage
• ectotherms
Cartilaginous Fishes
• Two pairs of fins; gills
• ectotherms
• strong teeth (sharks)
• SKELETON MADE OF CARTILAGE
• stingrays, skates, sharks
Bony fishes
• Flounder, eels, trout, and others
• SKELETON MADE OF BONE
• gills
• streamlined bodies (narrow
shape)
• most numerous group of fish
Questions
• How are the cartilaginous
fishes mainly different from the
bony fishes?
• What do the other fishes have
that the jawless fishes do not
have?
Amphibians
• Frogs, toads, salamanders
• part of their life is spent on
land and part of life is spent in
the water; (ectotherms)
• smooth, moist skin
• gills when they are young and
have lungs as adults
Reptiles
• Adapted to live on land
(terrestrial)
• breathe with lungs
• body covered with plates or
scales
• ectotherms
Reptiles
• Dinosaurs
• Turtles, snakes, lizards,
crocodiles, and alligators
• lay eggs in a leathery shell
Birds
• Bodies adapted for flight (light,
bones, feathers, and wings)
• Scaly legs and feet
• lay eggs in a hard shell
• endotherms
Mammals
• Advanced nervous system;
highly developed brain
• Endotherms
• Hairy bodies
• can occupy several habitats
• give birth to live young;
produce milk mammary glands
Questions
• Which animals spend part of
their life on and part of it in the
water?
• What type of animals have
scales or or hard plates?
Questions
• Which two groups of animals
are warm-blooded?
• What is the difference between
the eggs of reptiles and birds?