The Tree of Life on Earth poster offers a vivid, up-to-date* overview of the modern classification of living things. The central image of a tree, with its labeled limbs and branches, represents the relationships among all the major groups of organisms on Earth. This visual presentation is reinforced verbally with an outline at the bottom of the poster, which gives descriptions and interesting facts about the 236 taxonomic groups shown in the tree. Text boxes provide background on the science of classification, and gorgeous color photographs give striking examples of plants, animals, protists, and other organisms. By combining stunning graphics with the latest science, The Tree of Life on Earth is an indispensable guide to the unity and diversity of life.
* A word on classification systems. Most similar posters on the market today are based on the outdated Five Kingdom system, which divides living things into the kingdoms Bacteria, Protists, Fungi, Plants, and Animals. This has largely been replaced by the Three Domain system, which divides life into Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukaryotes. Archaea and Bacteria are single-celled organisms without a nucleus. They were once grouped together in the kingdom Bacteria, but are now known to be very different. These simple organisms make up two of the three main divisions in the tree of life. The Eukaryotes, the third domain, are the organisms whose cells have a nucleus. Most eukaryotes are single-celled protists. Fungi, plants, and animals constitute just a small part of the diversity of the eukaryote family tree, as the poster makes clear.
