Protists

Protists are eukaryotic organism that is not an animal, plant, or fungus. While it is likely that Protists share a common ancestor (the last eukaryotic common ancestor), the exclusion of other eukaryotes means that protists do not form a natural group, or clade. So some protists may be more closely related to animals, plants, or fungi than they are to other protists; however, like algae, invertebrates, or protozoans, the grouping is used for convenience.
The taxonomy of Protists is still changing. Newer classifications attempt to present monophyletic groups based on morphological, biochemical and DNA sequence information. Because Protists as a whole are paraphyletic, new systems often split up or abandon the kingdom, instead treating the protist groups as separate lines of eukaryotes.