(3265 species)
Welcome to Systema Naturae! On this page you can visually explore the diverse branches of Eukaryotes on planet Earth.
While the outer appearence of eukaryotic species is fascinating in its diversity, on a cellular level all those species share some common features, the most important being that the cells contain a nucleus which contains most of the genetic information stored as DNA. Also, eukaryotic cells posess specialised compartments (membrane systems) within their cells, probably the most important ones being the mitochondria which contain the respiratory chain that is able to transform the chemical energy of sugars and other nutrients into biologically accesible energy (commonly stored in highly energetic chemical bonds of molecules such Adenosintriphosphate). In general, the cells of Eukaryotes are much more complex than those of the Prokaryotes (Bacteria and Archaea), the latter not being featured here.
The idea for this project arose from the observations of nature and wildlife that the author has made, especially since 2016. This website conveniently displays many of the organisms that he observed on his trips and will be expanded continously to include new observations.
The classification of species is based on the hierarchical system proposed by Carolus Linnaeus in 1735. The system of kingdoms, phyla, classes, orders and families in many cases does not portray the evolutionary relations between groups of organisms properly, but is used for simplicity. It certainly is able to present a good overview of the various evolutionary groups
