The term protist is an informal term that encompasses multiple organisms from different common ancestors and life cycles

The term protist is an informal term that encompasses multiple organisms from different common ancestors and life cycles.

The term protist itself is an informal term that encompasses multiple organisms from different common ancestors and life cycles. Despite greater understanding of cladistics and genetics, the term continues to be used informally.

The kingdom Protista is a diverse kingdom made up of organisms that are neither animals, plants, or fungi. Most members of this group are unicellular.

However, using , Protista is not considered a kingdom (because there is no single common ancestor). Protista was split into five categories and is no longer used.