Page 233 - (DK) Ocean - The Definitive Visual Guide

LIFE ON EARTH was once thought to fall into
five great kingdoms—the animals, plants,

and fungi, and the two microscopic kingdoms,

the protists and the bacteria. Scientists are
now looking at life ever more closely, and

each discovery expands our perspective

on life’s vast variety. Many experts now

consider that the familiar life-forms, plants

and animals, represent just two of 30 or
more kingdoms. The oceans are the

ancestral home of life and are still home to

all major groups of animals. Although plants
are far more diverse on land, their place is

taken in the oceans by a range of seaweeds

and microorganisms. The following section

showcases the entire range of ocean life.

It is organized into kingdoms and further
divided into the smaller units used by

scientists to order and understand nature.

KINGDOMS OF OCEAN LIFE

SUCCESS IN WATER
This violet-spotted reef lobster is a flamboyant
example of one of the marine success stories of
the animal kingdom—the varied and abundant
crustaceans. The crustaceans as a group include
crabs, crayfish, shrimp, and some of the most
common members of the zooplankton.