Today in Kingdoms

Photo by Ned Harris 1/21/2012

On the Wednesday nature walk, we talked about mosses, algae, and fungi (among other living things). I needed to refresh my memory about algae, so I found this site. It provides a quick overview of the 6 Kingdoms of life. Basically, there are:

• 1. Weird Bacteria (that live at the bottom of the ocean, say)
• 2. Not-so-weird Bacteria (that live in your mouth, say)
• 3. Algae (but not the stuff fka blue-green algae. That's cyanobacteria. See 2.)
• 4. Fungi (mushrooms, etc.)
• 5. Plants (mosses, cacti, etc.)
• 6. Animals (horse and rider above)

Keep in mind: Today, there are 6 Kingdoms. As we learn more about life, the universe, and everything, though, the number of Kingdoms may change (or things may be switched into a different Kingdom or Phylum, etc.). Because DNA sequencing has become relatively inexpensive, it's much easier to see what is related to what and who to whom. Bottom line: All living things share a common ancestor. Very cool!