Protist classification

A modern non-hierarchical interpretation of the phylogeny of eukaryotes, including protists
(the gray unlabeled line next to Sar represents Telonemia)

A protist (/ˈproʊtɪst/) is any eukaryotic organism (one with cells containing a nucleus) that is not an animal, plant, or fungus. The protists do not form a natural group, or clade, since they exclude certain eukaryotes with whom they share a common ancestor; but, like algae or invertebrates, the grouping is used for convenience. In some systems of biological classification, such as the popular five-kingdom scheme proposed by Robert Whittaker in 1969, the protists make up a kingdom called Protista, composed of "organisms which are unicellular or unicellular-colonial and which form no tissues". In the 21st century, the classification shifted toward a two-kingdom system of protists: Chromista (containing the chromalveolate, rhizarian and hacrobian groups) and Protozoa (containing excavates and all protists more closely related to animals and fungi).

The following groups contain protists. The clade Opisthokonta also contains the animals and the fungi, and the kingdom Archaeplastida also contains algae and plants.

Legend:

* Lack of molecular data.
† Extinct, or exclusively fossil taxon.
? Uncertain position, reserved for above-genus taxa.
(P) Paraphyletic or polyphyletic taxon.
(P?) Potentially paraphyletic or polyphyletic taxon.
(=...) Taxonomic synonym.
(...) Same taxon in a different code of nomenclature.


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