tree of life

Tree of Life

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One of several theoretical models of the tree of life, source Wikipedia Commons:


Highly recommended: Espèces d'espèces/ Die wunderbare Artenvielfalt
A documentary by Denis van Waerebeke & Vincent Gaullier, France 2008, explaining the tree of life in a thoroughly fascinating way.

The following model more or less is the classical one (quoted from Fischer & al., Exkursionsflora A/FL/SüdT 2008 3rd: p. 166ff) and certainly not up to date, as the model keeps changing at breakneck speed (and as I am not at all proficient in this field) the classical one will do just nicely (and has the advantage of avoiding taxa incertae sedis); after all there are plenty of resources for true tree of life fanatics on the web (like e. g. the Tree of Life Web Project which, I take it, are updated regularly).

Tree of Life according to Fischer & al. 2008, Exkursionsflora (3rd ed.) ('mixed' system of phylogenetic and traditional models to avoid families incertae sedis)

-x- Prokaryota (superregnum): organisms without cell nucleus

-x-- Archaeonta (regnum): bacteria with cell walls that do not contain murein
-x-- Bacterionta (regnum): bacteria with cell walls that do contain murein
-x--.- Eubacteria (subregnum): bacteria proper
-x--.- Cyanophyta (subregnum): blue-green bacteria/algae

-x- Eukaryota (superregnum): organisms with cell nucleus

-x-- Protobionta (regnum): primitive plants and animals
-x--.- Protista (subregnum): many algae and some primitive fungi - Algen, (primitive) Pilze
-x--.- Eumycota = Fungi (subregnum): higher fungi - Höhere Pilze
(-x--.-) Lichens (fungus + alga/cyanobacteria): not a group of their own, lichens - Flechten are symbiotic organisms of a fungus and a photosynthetic partner (usually some alga); they're better to integrate in the fungi kingdoms but nevertheless, of course, they don't quite belong there
-x--.- Protozoa (subregnum): monocellular animals - Tierische Einzeller
 In a strictly phylogenetic classification, these groups would represent more or less archaic stages of the development of plants and animals, some of which (like e. g. higher fungi) have evolved further, and have gone their own ways, while others have remained at a rather primitive stage (like some algae and monocellular animals).

-x-- Metazoa = Animalia (regnum): higher animals - Mehrzellige Tiere
-x--.- ungrouped Metazoa = 'Primitive' animals: sponges and a few other ones - 'primitive' Tiere (dt. Wiki)
-x--.- Eumetazoa (divisio): 'Higher' animals - Gewebetiere

-x-- Embryophyta = Plantae (regnum): higher plants (Archegoniatae) - Höhere Pflanzen
(phylogenetic models also will include some algae here)
-x--.- Bryophyta (supradivisio): mosses (more 'primitive') - Moose ('primitive' Pflanzen)
-x--.- Tracheophyta (supradivisio): vascular plants (higher plants) - Gefässpflanzen (Höhere Pflanzen)