| MadSci Network: General Biology |
The classification of Volvox has been debated almost since the time of its discovery and original classification. The two kingdoms usually foremost in that debate are the kingdom Plantae in the kingdom Protista. But, arguments can also be put forward to debate whether the kingdom Animalia is also a place to put Volvox in the grand scheme of things. My personal preference is a Volvox should be placed in the kingdom Protista along with other green algae. I always look upon the Protista as a catch all kingdom for things that have both plant and animal characteristics. Since it is generally excepted that there are no single celled plants, Volvox would not be placed in the plant kingdom for this reason. However, since it is colonial and not "exactly" single celled an argument is often put forward for it being in the plant kingdom. Also, since it photosynthesizes, it has another plantlike characteristic but then you could argue that cyanobacteria also photosynthesize and they're not plants. When you throw in the fact that the individual cells in the colony are flagellated and capable of movement the classification picture becomes even cloudier. Since the kingdom Protista contains organisms that have plantlike characteristics, or animallike characteristics, or both, this seems to be the only reasonable place to put an organism such as Volvox. I have included two websites you might find helpful in your study of classification although the one for GBIS surprised me putting the Volvox in the plant kingdom.
global biodiversity information facility (GBIF)
www.gbif.net/species/browse/taxon/13151052
Olympus Microscopy Resource Center
http://www.olympusmicro.com/micd/galleries/moviegallery/pondscum/protists/volvox/index.html
Try the links in the MadSci Library for more information on General Biology.