Domain (biology)
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In biology, a domain or empire is the top-level grouping of organisms in scientific classification. Originally three kingdoms were distinguished: the fauna for animals, the flora (Vegetabilia) for plants, and Mineralia (early authors also treated minerals in a third kingdom). This corresponds to the old saying animal, vegetable or mineral?.
Today there are several competing domain classifications of life.
- Three-domain system of Carl Woese, introduced in 1990, and featuring Archaea, Eubacteria, and Eukaryota.
- Two-empire system featuring Prokaryota (or Monera) and Eukaryota.
See also
de:Domäne (Biologie) es:Dominio (biología) fr:Classification phylogénétique nl:Domein (biologie) pl:Domena (biologia) pt:Super reino sv:Domän (biologi) zh:域 (生物)