Patterns in Life: Diversity and Classification — Class 9 Science
Exploration · Chapter 12
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Chapter summary
Key ideas & terms
- Biodiversity
- The immense variety of living organisms found on the Earth, from microbes to large plants and animals, across many habitats.
- Classification
- The arrangement of organisms into groups based on shared characteristics, to make their study easier and show relationships.
- Species
- The basic unit of classification — a group of similar organisms that can interbreed and produce fertile offspring.
- Five-kingdom system
- Whittaker’s scheme dividing life into Monera, Protista, Fungi, Plantae and Animalia, based on cell type, organisation and nutrition.
- Binomial nomenclature
- Linnaeus’s system of giving each species a two-word Latin scientific name made of its genus and species names.
- Hierarchy of classification
- The ordered ranks species, genus, family, order, class, phylum/division and kingdom, from smallest to largest group.
Extra questions & answers
What is biodiversity and why is it important?
Biodiversity is the variety of all living organisms on the Earth; it is important because each organism helps keep ecosystems stable and humans depend on it for food, medicines, shelter and livelihoods.
Why do scientists classify organisms?
Because there are millions of different organisms, classification groups them by shared features, which makes them easier to study, reveals their relationships and helps in fields like farming, medicine and conservation.
What is the basic unit of classification?
The species is the basic unit — a group of closely similar organisms that can interbreed among themselves to produce fertile offspring.
Write the hierarchy of classification from smallest to largest group.
Species, genus, family, order, class, phylum (or division in plants) and kingdom, in increasing order of size and decreasing similarity among members.
On what basis did Whittaker divide organisms into five kingdoms?
He used the type of cell (prokaryotic or eukaryotic), the body organisation (unicellular or multicellular) and the mode of nutrition (making, absorbing or ingesting food).
Name the five kingdoms and one feature of each.
Monera (prokaryotes, e.g. bacteria), Protista (single-celled eukaryotes, e.g. amoeba), Fungi (absorptive decomposers, e.g. mushrooms), Plantae (photosynthetic multicellular plants) and Animalia (multicellular organisms that ingest food).
How do fungi obtain their food?
Fungi are heterotrophic and absorptive — they secrete enzymes onto organic matter and absorb the digested nutrients, often acting as decomposers.
What is binomial nomenclature and who introduced it?
It is the system, introduced by Carl Linnaeus, of giving each organism a two-part Latin scientific name consisting of its genus and species, e.g. Homo sapiens.
Why is a universal scientific name needed for each organism?
Common names vary between languages and regions and can cause confusion, so a single standard Latin scientific name lets scientists everywhere refer to the same organism unambiguously.
How does classification help in agriculture and conservation?
Knowing how organisms are related helps farmers choose useful crop varieties and manage pests, and helps conservationists identify and protect threatened species and maintain biodiversity.
Think It Over
What do you understand by biodiversity?
Biodiversity means the variety of all living organisms present on the Earth in different habitats. It includes the diversity within species, between species and of ecosystems. It ranges from microscopic bacteria and algae to giant trees, fungi, animals and humans. Every organism has a role in keeping nature balanced.
How does the grouping of organisms help us understand diversity?
Grouping or classification arranges the huge number of organisms on the basis of their similarities and differences. It makes study systematic and manageable, helps to identify organisms, shows evolutionary relationships and common ancestry, and helps to understand how organisms are related, how they function and how they can be conserved or used sustainably.
On what basis, are plants and animals classified?
Plants and animals are classified on the basis of characteristics such as external features and body organisation, cell type and cell structure, level of organisation, mode of nutrition, internal structures like tissues and organs, ecological role, method of reproduction and genetic similarity in DNA.
How does classification help address problems in farming?
Classification helps farmers and scientists identify useful traits like drought tolerance, pest resistance and growth in poor soils, understand relationships among crops, their wild relatives, pests and beneficial organisms like pollinators and decomposers, and choose diverse and suitable varieties. Diversity reduces the risk of total crop failure, improves soil fertility, helps in pest control and strengthens food security and sustainable farming.
Activity 12.1: Let us compare and classify
1. Ponder on the questions given below: Which animals can you identify in the given picture?
In Fig. 12.2 many animals of an ecosystem are shown. Students can identify animals such as tiger, leopard, deer, monkey, owl, eagle, parrot, bat, snake, frog, rabbit, porcupine and insects. The exact list depends on observation, but the picture includes mammals, birds, reptiles and small nocturnal animals.
1. Ponder on the questions given below: Where are they seen?
They are seen in different places in the ecosystem. Some are flying high in the air like eagle, some flying near the ground or on branches like parrot and owl, some on trees like monkey, some on the forest floor like tiger, deer and rabbit, some near water like frog and some inside burrows or on branches.
1. Ponder on the questions given below: Which animals in the picture seem active: (i) during the day?
Animals shown in the bright side of the picture such as deer, tiger, monkey, eagle, parrot, butterfly and rabbit appear active during the day. They are diurnal and use daylight for feeding and movement.
1. Ponder on the questions given below: Which animals in the picture seem active: (ii) during the night?
Animals shown in the dark side such as owl, bat and leopard appear active during the night. They are nocturnal, have adaptations like large eyes and keen hearing to hunt or move in low light.
1. Ponder on the questions given below: Which animals in the picture seem active: (iii) both during the day and the night?
Some animals like certain snakes, frogs and cats may be active both day and night depending on season and need. In the picture, if an animal appears in both light and dark views, it can be considered cathemeral or opportunistic.
2. Record your observations in Table 12.1.
Table 12.1 is to be filled by the student by drawing or naming the organism, noting where it is seen, when it appears active and any visible features such as feathers, fur, scales, wings, jointed legs. For example owl - tree - night - feathers and large eyes.
3. Now, try grouping the same organisms in more than one way. Each time change the criterion you are using for grouping (Table 12.2).
Organisms can be grouped by different criteria. For example by habitat: arboreal - monkey, parrot, owl; terrestrial - tiger, deer; aerial - eagle, bat; aquatic - frog. By food habit: carnivore - tiger, eagle; herbivore - deer, rabbit; omnivore - monkey. The same organism fits in different groups when the criterion changes, showing that classification depends on the chosen characteristic.
Pause and Ponder
1. If many organisms share common features, could they also share a common ancestry?
Yes. If organisms share many fundamental features, especially cell structure, DNA and developmental patterns, it suggests they inherited those features from a common ancestor. Similarities become more meaningful when they are detailed and genetic, and accumulate over generations through evolution.
Activity 12.2: Let us read a case study
Think and discuss the case based on the following questions — (i) How can scientists keep track of so many species?
Scientists keep track by classifying and naming species systematically using the hierarchy of kingdom to species and the binomial system, maintaining field records, checklists, photographs, museum specimens and databases. In Pakke Tiger Reserve they record distribution, habitat and behaviour to catalogue nearly 300 bird species in an organised way.
Think and discuss the case based on the following questions — (ii) The four hornbills look similar in some ways. What features can help scientists distinguish them from one another?
Although all four hornbills are large, they differ in size, casque shape, beak colour, plumage pattern, neck colour, call and nesting and fruit preferences. Detailed features like the colour of the Rufous neck, the black and white pattern of the Oriental Pied, the large yellow casque of the Great Hornbill and the curled casque of the Wreathed Hornbill help to distinguish them.
Think and discuss the case based on the following questions — (iii) What would happen if the large, old trees disappeared from the forest?
If large, old trees with cavities disappear, hornbills would lose nesting sites and specific fruit trees, so their breeding success and population would decline. Loss of hornbills would reduce seed dispersal, affecting forest regeneration and the whole food web, and many linked plants and animals would also be affected.
Pause and Ponder
2. How can a single-celled organism carry out all its life processes when billions of cells are required to perform similar functions in multicellular organisms like us?
A single-celled organism like Amoeba or Paramecium has all organelles within one cell, so that one cell performs nutrition, respiration, excretion, response and reproduction by diffusion and specialized structures like contractile vacuole, cilia or flagella. In multicellular organisms cells are specialized and divide work among tissues and organs, so many cells are needed for division of labour, larger size and complexity.
Pause and Ponder
3. Which plant features reduce their dependence on water but still require moist conditions?
In bryophytes, features such as rhizoids instead of true roots, simple leaf-like and stem-like structures and mat-like growth help them live on land but they still lack true vascular tissue and need water for the male gametes to swim to the female, so they remain dependent on moisture.
4. Why do taller plants need specialised transport tissues?
Taller plants need xylem to transport water and minerals from roots to leaves against gravity and phloem to transport food from leaves to all parts. Diffusion alone is too slow over long distances, so specialized vascular tissues provide efficient, rapid and directed transport and structural support.
5. How do seeds and fruits affect, where and how plants can survive?
Seeds protect the embryo, store food and allow dormancy, so the plant can survive unfavourable conditions and germinate away from the parent. Fruits enclose seeds and help in dispersal by wind, water and animals, allowing plants to colonize new habitats, reduce competition and occupy a wide range of environments.
Pause and Ponder
6. An earthworm (annelida) and a beetle (arthropoda), both have segmented bodies but the beetle has a hard external skeleton. How does the beetle's external skeleton help it survive?
The beetle's hard external skeleton made of chitin provides protection from predators and injury, prevents water loss in dry habitats, gives attachment for strong muscles for movement and flight, and supports the body, allowing arthropods to live on land in exposed environments, unlike the soft-bodied earthworm which needs moist soil.
Pause and Ponder
7. Does the term 'biodiversity' relate only to the variety of organisms, or does it encompass other elements?
Biodiversity includes not only the variety of organisms but also genetic diversity within species, species diversity and ecosystem diversity, and the interactions among organisms and their environment, such as habitats, climate and ecological roles that keep ecosystems stable.
8. If you find a new organism in a pond, what features will you observe to classify it and why?
One would observe cell type whether prokaryote or eukaryote, whether unicellular or multicellular, presence or absence of cell wall and its composition, mode of nutrition autotrophic or heterotrophic, locomotion structures, habitat and reproduction. These are the criteria used in five kingdom classification and they reveal relatedness and help place the organism correctly.
9. Why do genetic studies provide deep information about living beings?
Genetic studies compare DNA which carries hereditary information for growth and function. Organisms with similar DNA share common ancestry. DNA comparison is more precise than external appearance, reveals hidden relationships, helps correct classification and traces evolutionary history.
10. How can changes in climate affect the biodiversity?
Changes in temperature, rainfall and seasons can alter habitats, affect food and water availability, disturb breeding and migration, and make some species unable to adapt, leading to decline or extinction while favouring others, thus reducing overall biodiversity and destabilizing ecosystems.
Revise, Reflect, Refine
1. Meena and Hari observed an animal in their garden. Hari called it an insect while Meena said it was an earthworm. Choose the correct option which confirms that it is an insect. (i) Bilateral symmetrical body (ii) Body with jointed legs (iii) Cylindrical body (iv) Body with little segmentation
The correct option is (ii) Body with jointed legs. Insects belong to arthropods and have jointed appendages and an exoskeleton. Bilateral symmetry, cylindrical body and segmentation are also seen in earthworms, so only jointed legs confirm it is an insect.
2. Sponges represent one of the simplest animal body plans. Their bodies lack true tissues and organs. Which feature of sponge cells supports its classification under the animal kingdom? (i) Absence of mitochondria (ii) Ability to photosynthesise (iii) Presence of a cell membrane (iv) Presence of a cell wall
The correct option is (iii) Presence of a cell membrane. Animal cells lack a cell wall and are bounded by a cell membrane and they are heterotrophic. Sponge cells have a cell membrane and cannot photosynthesise, and they possess mitochondria like other animals, while a cell wall is a plant, fungal or bacterial feature.
3. Observe two different animals in your immediate environment. What features help you distinguish between them? How do these features help place them into different groups?
For example a sparrow and an ant: sparrow has feathers, wings, beak, backbone and lays eggs with a hard shell, while ant has jointed legs, exoskeleton, three body regions and no backbone. Feathers and vertebral column place the sparrow in vertebrata aves, while jointed legs and exoskeleton place the ant in arthropoda insecta, showing different phyla and levels of organisation.
4. How would a scientist justify choosing cellular organisation as a more fundamental characteristic for the basis of classification rather than the presence of xylem and phloem?
Cellular organisation such as prokaryotic versus eukaryotic and unicellular versus multicellular is present in all organisms and reflects the basic structure and evolutionary history. Xylem and phloem are found only in higher plants, so using them would not allow classification of bacteria, protists, fungi and many animals and lower plants. Fundamental features apply universally.
5. You find an unlabelled slide of a single-celled organism that has a well-defined nucleus and multiple cilia. Which group would it most likely belong to? Give reasons.
It most likely belongs to Kingdom Protista, for example Paramecium. It is unicellular and eukaryotic because it has a membrane-bound nucleus, and it moves with cilia. Protists are single-celled eukaryotes, many with cilia or flagella, unlike Monera which are prokaryotic.
6. How does the diversity of organisms contribute to the balance and stability of an ecosystem?
Diversity ensures that different roles such as producers, consumers and decomposers are filled. Plants produce food and oxygen, animals pollinate and disperse seeds, microorganisms recycle nutrients. Food webs become more complex, so if one species declines others can partially compensate, maintaining nutrient cycles, energy flow and resilience.
7. If all unicellular organisms were grouped into a single kingdom, what problems would arise?
It would group very different organisms together: prokaryotic bacteria without a true nucleus and eukaryotic protists with a true nucleus and organelles. Their cell structure, reproduction and nutrition differ greatly. Such a group would be unnatural, hide evolutionary relationships and cause confusion like the earlier two or three kingdom systems.
8. Viruses were studied in earlier classes. Why are they not placed in any of the five kingdoms? Give reasons.
Viruses are acellular, do not have a cell structure, cannot carry out metabolism on their own and reproduce only inside a host cell. They lack a cell membrane, cytoplasm and independent nutrition, and they are on the border of living and non-living, so they do not fit the criteria of cellular organisation, cell type and mode of nutrition used in the five kingdom system.
9. If you were asked to revise the five kingdom classification, would you create a separate category for viruses or keep them outside the system? Justify your answer and explain what this indicates about the evolving nature of scientific classification.
Many scientists keep viruses outside the five kingdoms because they lack cellular organisation, but one could create a separate category to acknowledge their existence and importance. This shows that classification is not fixed. As new tools and discoveries such as electron microscopy and DNA studies appear, systems are revised to better reflect understanding, showing science is progressive and open to change.
10. Viruses contain genetic material like living organisms but lack cellular organisation. Which features prevent them from fitting into the five kingdom system? What does this tell us about the limitations of classification systems?
Viruses lack a true cell, cell membrane, cytoplasm, metabolism and independent reproduction. Five kingdom classification is based on cell type, organisation and nutrition, all of which require a cellular body. Viruses show that no system can cover every form perfectly and systems have limits when encountering borderline entities.
11. Both pteridophytes and bryophytes lack flowers and seeds, yet they are placed in different groups. Explain this classification using their key features.
Both lack seeds but they differ fundamentally. Bryophytes have no true roots, stems or leaves, lack vascular tissues and need water for reproduction and are called amphibians of the plant kingdom. Pteridophytes have true roots, stems and leaves and possess xylem and phloem for transport, so they are more adapted to land though they still need water for reproduction.
12. In the classification hierarchy, which group — class or genus — has fewer members but more features in common? Explain your answer.
Genus has fewer members but more features in common. Hierarchy goes from broad kingdom to specific species. As we go down, shared features increase and number of organisms decreases. Genus is lower than class, so organisms in the same genus are more closely related and share many more detailed characters than those in the same class.
13. A scientist discovers a new organism with the characteristic features of locomotion and autotrophic nutrition. Which character(s) would help the scientist identify the organism belonging to Protista according to the five kingdom classification?
In five kingdoms, Plantae are autotrophic but generally non-motile, Animalia are motile but heterotrophic. A unicellular eukaryote that is both motile and shows autotrophic nutrition, like Euglena which swims with a flagellum and photosynthesises in light but is heterotrophic in dark, fits Protista. Unicellular eukaryotic nature, flagellar movement and mixotrophic nutrition identify it as a protist.
14. A researcher identified a unicellular eukaryotic organism as fungi. What identification key would you suggest according to the five kingdom classification to keep a unicellular organism in the Kingdom Fungi?
Fungi have a cell wall made of chitin, are heterotrophic and absorb nutrients via mycelium and reproduce by spores, often budding in yeast. If the unicellular eukaryote has a chitinous wall and heterotrophic absorptive nutrition and not cellulose or photosynthesis nor animal-like ingestion, it can be placed in Fungi despite being unicellular, as with yeast.
15. During a long-term ecological study, students examined organisms collected from three different environments — a freshwater pond, damp soil near decaying logs and the digestive tract of animals. Instead of naming organisms directly, scientists recorded only structural, cellular and nutritional features as given in the table below. Organisms Key Observations P Microscopic; no true nucleus; rigid cell covering; survives high salinity and temperature Q Multicellular; filamentous body; cell wall present; no chlorophyll; grows on dead organic matter R Unicellular; true nucleus; contractile vacuole present; moves using flagella; shows photosynthesis in light but heterotrophic in the absence of light S Multicellular; well-differentiated tissues; backbone present; aquatic respiration during early life stage T Acellular; contains genetic material; remains inactive outside a host cell The students realised that some organisms fit neatly into Whittaker's five kingdom classification, while others challenged the very basis of this classification. Based on the case study, answer the following questions — (i) Identify one organism that clearly belongs to the Kingdom Fungi. State one observation that supports your answer.
Organism Q belongs to Kingdom Fungi. It is multicellular with filamentous body, has a cell wall made of chitin, lacks chlorophyll and grows on dead organic matter absorbing nutrients as a saprophyte, which are characteristic fungal traits.
15. During a long-term ecological study, students examined organisms collected from three different environments — a freshwater pond, damp soil near decaying logs and the digestive tract of animals. Instead of naming organisms directly, scientists recorded only structural, cellular and nutritional features as given in the table below. Organisms Key Observations P Microscopic; no true nucleus; rigid cell covering; survives high salinity and temperature Q Multicellular; filamentous body; cell wall present; no chlorophyll; grows on dead organic matter R Unicellular; true nucleus; contractile vacuole present; moves using flagella; shows photosynthesis in light but heterotrophic in the absence of light S Multicellular; well-differentiated tissues; backbone present; aquatic respiration during early life stage T Acellular; contains genetic material; remains inactive outside a host cell The students realised that some organisms fit neatly into Whittaker's five kingdom classification, while others challenged the very basis of this classification. Based on the case study, answer the following questions — (ii) Which organism would be placed in the Kingdom Monera? Mention one characteristic that justifies this placement.
Organism P belongs to Kingdom Monera. It is microscopic, has no true nucleus meaning it is prokaryotic, has a rigid cell covering and survives extreme salinity and temperature, typical of bacteria and archaea.
15. During a long-term ecological study, students examined organisms collected from three different environments — a freshwater pond, damp soil near decaying logs and the digestive tract of animals. Instead of naming organisms directly, scientists recorded only structural, cellular and nutritional features as given in the table below. Organisms Key Observations P Microscopic; no true nucleus; rigid cell covering; survives high salinity and temperature Q Multicellular; filamentous body; cell wall present; no chlorophyll; grows on dead organic matter R Unicellular; true nucleus; contractile vacuole present; moves using flagella; shows photosynthesis in light but heterotrophic in the absence of light S Multicellular; well-differentiated tissues; backbone present; aquatic respiration during early life stage T Acellular; contains genetic material; remains inactive outside a host cell The students realised that some organisms fit neatly into Whittaker's five kingdom classification, while others challenged the very basis of this classification. Based on the case study, answer the following questions — (iii) Organisms R and Q are both eukaryotic, yet they are placed in different kingdoms. Analyse the criteria that separate them.
Both are eukaryotic but differ in level of organisation, cell wall composition and nutrition. R is unicellular with flagella and shows mixotrophic nutrition and cellulose or no wall typical of Protista, while Q is multicellular filamentous with chitin wall and heterotrophic absorptive nutrition typical of Fungi. Mode of nutrition and cell wall chemistry separate them.
15. During a long-term ecological study, students examined organisms collected from three different environments — a freshwater pond, damp soil near decaying logs and the digestive tract of animals. Instead of naming organisms directly, scientists recorded only structural, cellular and nutritional features as given in the table below. Organisms Key Observations P Microscopic; no true nucleus; rigid cell covering; survives high salinity and temperature Q Multicellular; filamentous body; cell wall present; no chlorophyll; grows on dead organic matter R Unicellular; true nucleus; contractile vacuole present; moves using flagella; shows photosynthesis in light but heterotrophic in the absence of light S Multicellular; well-differentiated tissues; backbone present; aquatic respiration during early life stage T Acellular; contains genetic material; remains inactive outside a host cell The students realised that some organisms fit neatly into Whittaker's five kingdom classification, while others challenged the very basis of this classification. Based on the case study, answer the following questions — (iv) Explain why organism S cannot be classified using the mode of nutrition alone.
Organism S is a vertebrate, likely an amphibian, which is multicellular heterotrophic like many animals. Nutrition alone would group it with fungi and many protists which are also heterotrophic. Additional criteria such as multicellular tissue differentiation, presence of backbone, vertebral column and life cycle with aquatic early respiration are needed to place it correctly in Animalia.
15. During a long-term ecological study, students examined organisms collected from three different environments — a freshwater pond, damp soil near decaying logs and the digestive tract of animals. Instead of naming organisms directly, scientists recorded only structural, cellular and nutritional features as given in the table below. Organisms Key Observations P Microscopic; no true nucleus; rigid cell covering; survives high salinity and temperature Q Multicellular; filamentous body; cell wall present; no chlorophyll; grows on dead organic matter R Unicellular; true nucleus; contractile vacuole present; moves using flagella; shows photosynthesis in light but heterotrophic in the absence of light S Multicellular; well-differentiated tissues; backbone present; aquatic respiration during early life stage T Acellular; contains genetic material; remains inactive outside a host cell The students realised that some organisms fit neatly into Whittaker's five kingdom classification, while others challenged the very basis of this classification. Based on the case study, answer the following questions — (v) Organism T does not fit into any of the five kingdoms. Which fundamental characteristic used in classification does it lack and what does this reveal about the limitations of classification systems?
Organism T is a virus. It lacks cellular organisation, being acellular with no cell membrane, cytoplasm or independent metabolism. Five kingdom classification is based on cellular type and organisation, so acellular forms cannot be placed. This shows the system is limited to cellular life and cannot accommodate entities on the border of living and non-living.
15. During a long-term ecological study, students examined organisms collected from three different environments — a freshwater pond, damp soil near decaying logs and the digestive tract of animals. Instead of naming organisms directly, scientists recorded only structural, cellular and nutritional features as given in the table below. Organisms Key Observations P Microscopic; no true nucleus; rigid cell covering; survives high salinity and temperature Q Multicellular; filamentous body; cell wall present; no chlorophyll; grows on dead organic matter R Unicellular; true nucleus; contractile vacuole present; moves using flagella; shows photosynthesis in light but heterotrophic in the absence of light S Multicellular; well-differentiated tissues; backbone present; aquatic respiration during early life stage T Acellular; contains genetic material; remains inactive outside a host cell The students realised that some organisms fit neatly into Whittaker's five kingdom classification, while others challenged the very basis of this classification. Based on the case study, answer the following questions — (vi) If classification were based only on habitat, which organisms might be incorrectly grouped together? Explain the scientific consequences of such a classification.
If based only on habitat, organisms from the pond such as P, R and the early stage of S could be grouped together despite belonging to Monera, Protista and Animalia with very different cell types and genetics. Similarly, organisms from decaying logs and animal guts could be mixed. Such artificial grouping would hide true evolutionary relationships, make identification confusing and fail to predict traits, usefulness or conservation needs.
15. During a long-term ecological study, students examined organisms collected from three different environments — a freshwater pond, damp soil near decaying logs and the digestive tract of animals. Instead of naming organisms directly, scientists recorded only structural, cellular and nutritional features as given in the table below. Organisms Key Observations P Microscopic; no true nucleus; rigid cell covering; survives high salinity and temperature Q Multicellular; filamentous body; cell wall present; no chlorophyll; grows on dead organic matter R Unicellular; true nucleus; contractile vacuole present; moves using flagella; shows photosynthesis in light but heterotrophic in the absence of light S Multicellular; well-differentiated tissues; backbone present; aquatic respiration during early life stage T Acellular; contains genetic material; remains inactive outside a host cell The students realised that some organisms fit neatly into Whittaker's five kingdom classification, while others challenged the very basis of this classification. Based on the case study, answer the following questions — (vii) Imagine scientists discover a new organism that is multicellular, eukaryotic, lacks chlorophyll and absorbs nutrients from a host externally. Should it be placed under fungi or animalia? Justify your reasoning using classification criteria.
It should be placed under Fungi rather than Animalia. Both are multicellular eukaryotic heterotrophs, but fungi have a chitinous cell wall, are non-motile and absorb nutrients externally through mycelium, while animals lack a cell wall, ingest food and show locomotion and nervous coordination. External absorption and presence of cell wall point to Fungi, even though it is parasitic.