Examples: Amoeba, Paramecium, Euglena,
Volvox, protozoa, and some algae
Microscopic but larger than Monerans
Eukaryotic - Inside the cell, there are specialised structures called organelles which are surrounded by membranes, such as nucleus (containing DNA), chloroplasts (for photosynthesis), and mitochondria (for respiration).
Most are unicellular. This means that each protist cell exists as an individual with no cooperation with other cells. Unicellular cells, however, can live linked to other cells in filaments or colonies.
Some move by whip like flagella, and others move by hair like cilia.
Some can photosynthesise like a plant, some ingest food like an animal, and some can absorb nutrients like fungi.
Did You Know...?
Scientists who believe in the theory of evolution believe that eukaryotic cells may have formed when smaller prokaryotic bacteria invaded and lived inside larger prokaryotic bacteria in a symbiotic relationship. Evidence for this idea comes from the fact that mitochondria (organelles responsible for respiration) and chloroplasts (organelles responsible for photosynthesis) both contain DNA.
If Paramecia are kept in the light, they photosynthesise like a plant, but if they are kept in the dark, they become heterotrophic or "eat" like an animal.