Definition of Term

Kingdom Protoctista

(English) Simple eukaryotic organisms. Defined by exclusion, i.e. if it is not a prokaryote, fungus, plant or animal, they it is a protoctist. All have a simple body form, either unicellular, filamentous (chain of cells), colonial (ball of cells) or macroscopic (large and obvious in the environment). The common names protozoa (unicellular, 'first animals') and algae (unicellular or very simple multicellular, photosynthetic organisms) are still employed by many biologists. These terms are still useful at intermediate and advanced level, though care must be taken to point out that they do not refer to actual taxa.

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