A Euglena
Protista is a very large and diverse polyphyletic group (historically treated as a Kingdom) of eukaryotic organisms. Protists have existed from the Neoproterozoic era to today. Despite its history as a monophyletic kingdom, it has been discovered that the members of the group are not all related through evolution.
This group is essentially reserved for organisms that do not fit into any other clade, and therefore are not related to each other. If an organism doesn't fit every requirement to be an animal, plant, bacteria, fungus, or archaea, they are added here; this makes Protista a wastebasket taxon.
Assorted Protist Clades[]
- Amorphea (excluding Fungi and Animalia): comprises organisms closest to fungi and animals than other clades. Made up mostly of amoebas, zooflagellates, and basal stem members before Fungi and Animalia and aren't classified as either.
- Archaeplastida (excluding Plantae): autotrophic protists known as various types of algae, including red algae (Rhodophtya) and green algae (Chlorophyta and Charophyta).
- SAR: clade that includes Rhizarians, Alveolates, and Stramenopiles. Ranges from autotrophic to heterotrophic plankton, but includes brown algae, such as the giant kelp.