Ask A Scientist© General Science Archive

name      David
status    educator
age       60s

Question - Our current biology text lists five kingdoms:monera,
protista, fungi,plantae, and animalia. Does the present classification
system use these five, or have there been recent changes?

Currently the five kingdom classifications stands. Monera, protista,
plantae, fungi and animalia. However, there is movement under foot to
change to an eight kingdom system [Monera into two, and Protista into
three] or a three kingdom system [the three cell types, archaea,
prokarotic and eukaryotic.

Steve Sample
York High School
Elmhurst, Illinois
60126
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David,
Most high school biology texts still show 5 kingdoms and teachers are
therefore largely encouraged to teach that system, though some AP texts have
begun to modernize their representation of the classification of organisms.
Biologists, however, generally agree that that 5-kingdom system had serious
flaws and current data from molecular biology/genetics show that there are
instead three primary lineages from the original common ancester: archaea,
eubacteria/bacteria and eukarya. More information can be obtained by a web
search using those now-common group names.
CED
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