Why has the Kingdom Protista been abandoned?

Answer 1

Advances in systematics have caused the kingdom Protista to crumble. the former kingdom is paraphyletic: some protists are more closely related to plants, fungi, or animals than to other protists. {& plants are a problem: sister clade to "green algae" - but not included in "protists"}

As a result, the kingdom Protista has been abandoned ... Biologists still use 'protist 'informally,

{like 'reptile' or 'dog'} as a convenient way to refer to eukaryotes that are neither plants, animals, nor fungi.

Answer 2

• In the past, taxonomists classified all protists in a single kingdom, Protista.
• However, it is now clear that Protista is in fact paraphyletic.
• Some protists are more closely related to plants, fungi, or animals than they are to other protists.
• As a result, the kingdom Protista has been abandoned.
  • Various lineages are recognized as kingdoms in their own right.
• Scientists still use the convenient term protist informally to refer to eukaryotes that are not plants, animals, or fungi.

Answer 3

The Kingdom Protista was abandoned because it was found to be a polyphyletic grouping, meaning that its members did not share a common evolutionary ancestor. Instead, protists are now classified into multiple separate groups based on their evolutionary relationships, such as the Kingdoms Plantae, Animalia, and Fungi.