Question

How many plant and animal types do exist on earth?

Answer 1

Hint: The organisms were classified into five broad kingdoms by Robert Whittaker. They were classified based on their cell structure, mode of nutrition, and reproduction. The descending order of biological classification is Kingdom, phylum, order, family, genus, and species. Carl Linnaeus invented the rank-based classification in biology. Linnaeus, Haeckel, Copeland, Whittaker, and Woese have published various criteria for the classification of organisms.

Complete answer:
- The plants are divided into five types and the animals are divided into eleven types.
- The five different kingdoms are Protista, Fungi, Plantae, Animalia, and Monera. Classification helps in understanding the evolution of life forms and makes it easier to study the different organisms.
- The Plantae kingdom consists of algae, bryophytes, pteridophytes, gymnosperms, and angiosperms.
- The Plantae kingdom consists of plants on land and in water that synthesize their own nutrition via photosynthesis.
- It consists of all plants that are multicellular and have a cell wall.
- Partially heterotrophic plants such as bladderwort, Venus flytrap, and Cuscuta are also included in the plant kingdom.
- The Animalia kingdom consists of Porifera, Coelenterate, Ctenophore, Platyhelminthes, Aschelminthes, Annelida, Arthropoda, Mollusca, Echinodermata, hemichordata, and Chordata.
- The Animalia kingdom consists of multicellular eukaryotes. They obtain their nutrition from a secondary organism and ingest their food. They are classified into phylum based on the cellular organization, symmetry, coelom development, segmentation of the body, and the notochord.

Note: Some organisms have the characteristics of both plants and animals. Kingdoms such as Protista and Fungi have such mixed characteristics. Lichens are symbiotic associations of algae and fungi. They are both autotrophic and heterotrophic. They are considered to be effective pollution indicators.