The original five kingdom system, called the binomial nomenclature, is no longer in use, it is now a six kingdom system.
The modern classification uses the following six Kingdoms:
Plantae
Archaebacteria
Eubacteria
Protista
Animalia
Fungi
The modern system has also expanded to three domains instead of the original two:
Archaea
Prokarya
Eukarya
See related questions below for additional information on taxonomy.
Historical information: There were once only two Kingdoms in the categorization system, defined by Carl Linnaeus in 1735.
Those two Kingdoms were:
- Animalia (animal)
- Vegetabilia (vegetable or plant)
In 1969 Robert Whittaker defined five Kingdoms:
- Animalia (animal)
- Plantae (plant)
- Fungi (fungi)
- Protista (comprised by various one-celled animals)
- Monera
Modern classification is based on a six Kingdom system:
- Animalia
- Plantae
- Fungi
- Protista
- Archaebacteria
- Eubacteria
Monera was split into the Kingdoms above listed as #5 and #6.
Potential future systems of classification: Modern scientific technologies have aided the design of the newest classification of six Kingdoms using gene sequencing, and it is predicted that eventually the system may expand to as many as 30 or more Kingdoms.