Exploratour - Life on Earth

Bee on flower
Click on image for full size
Image courtesy of Corel Photography

Between 2 and 3 million species are currently known on Earth and new species are being discovered every year. From tiny yeasts to starfish to blue whales, the diversity of life is pretty awesome! With so many kinds of living things, how can we ever make sense of it all?

Scientists organize living things into groups according to how closely they are related. The smallest groups are called "species" which represent one kind of living thing. The largest groups are called "kingdoms". All living things are classified into five Kingdoms:
Kingdom Monera -- the bacteria
Kingdom Protista -- the protists
Kingdom Fungi -- the fungi
Kingdom Plantae -- the plants
Kingdom Animalia -- the animals

To see an example of how living things are classified, compare the classification schemes of humans with that of some other species.

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