Bacteria, Viruses, and Protists

Protists

What are some major groups of Protista?

Little agreement exists among scientists on how to classify the protists, but these small creatures are often divided into several general groups that share certain characteristics of locomotion, nutrition, and reproduction. The following chart is just one of many general groupings of protists:

Group

Characteristics

Sarcodinas

Amoebas and related organisms that have no permanent locomotive structure

Algae

Single-celled and multicellular organisms that are photosynthetic

Diatoms

Photosynthetic organisms with hard shells made of silica

Flagellates

Organisms that propel themselves through water with flagella

Sporozoans

Nonmotile parasites that spread by forming spores

Ciliates

Organisms that have many short, hairlike structures on their cell surface associated with locomotion

Molds

Heterotrophs with restricted mobility that have cell walls composed of carbohydrates


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