Question

Kingdom protista is not considered natural one because

• A. It has diverse mode of form, structure and nutrition.
• B. Of organisms like slime mould, which are totally different from all other organisms.
• C. Its members are from different evolutionary lines.
• D. All of the above.

Answer 1

Answer: (D)

All of the above.

Eukaryotic kingdoms - plantae, fungi, and animalia are each believed to be monophyletic. That is, all plants evolved from one ancestral plant, all animals from one ancestral animal, and all fungi from one ancestral fungus. The protista, however, are not; they are almost certainly polyphyletic and did not arise from a single ancestral protist. Rather, the protista are a category of miscellaneous eukaryotes, not closely related to each other and not sharing many characteristics, but not fitting any other kingdom of life. Hence, protista is an artificial grouping of organisms.