Classification of Living Things - System of Classification (Two Kingdom, Three Kingdom, Four Kingdom, Five Kingdom and Eight Kingdom) | Classification

The term taxonomy was coined by De Condolle. Carl Linnaeus was regarded as the father of classification (taxonomy). He proposed two kingdom classification of living beings into Plantae and Animalia. Endlicher coined the term ‘thallophyta’

1. Two kingdom classification

• Carl Linnaeus (1758) proposed two kingdom classifications: Kingdom Plantae and Kingdom Animalia.

• Bernard De Jussieusa modified 2 kingdom classifications.
• He divided plants into 3 groups: Acotyledonae, Monocotyledonae and Dicotyledonae
• Eichler (1880): classified plant kingdom into two major groups
• Based on presence or absence of seeds into cryptogams (non-seeded plants) and Phanerogams or spermatophyta (seeded plants)

• Tippo 1942 classified plant kingdom on the basis of the absence or presence of embryo into thallophyta (plants without embryo) and Embryophyta (plants with embryo)

2. Three Kingdom Classification (Haeckel, 1866)

• Plant

• Animal

• Protista

3. Four Kingdom classification (Copeland, 1956)

• Monera
• Protista
• Metaphyta (Eukaryotic plants)
• metazoan (Eukaryotic animals )

Related MCQs

• MCQ on Diversity of Life: Classification System
• MCQ on Kingdom Monera MCQ on Kingdom Protista
• MCQ on Kingdom Fungi  MCQ on Kingdom Plantae
• MCQ on Kingdom Animalia

Learn more:

• Difference Between Natural and Phylogenetic Classification
• Difference Between Natural and Artificial Classification

4. Five Kingdom classification (R.H Whittaker ,1969)

Criterion for classification:

a) Complexity of cell structure: prokaryotic and Eukaryotic

b) Complexity of organisms: Unicellular or multicellular

c) Mode of nutrition:

• Plantae (autotrophs)
• Fungi (heterotrophs and saprobic absorption
• Animalia (heterotrophs and ingestion)

d) Life style:

• Producers (Plantae)
• Consumers (Animalia)
• Decomposers (Fungi)

e) Phylogentic relationships: prokaryotes to eukaryotes, unicellular to multicellular organisms

5. Six Kingdom Classification

· Gray and Doolittle (1982)

· On the basis of gene sequences 

6. Three domain system  Three domains of life

• Proposed by Carl Woese 1990

• Classified on the basis of 16S rRNA

7. Eight kingdom classification proposed by Cavalier and Smith