Chapter at a glance
India as a biodiversity hotspot, why and how organisms are classified, Whittaker’s five kingdoms, binomial naming, fossils as evidence, and threats to biodiversity.
What this chapter covers
- 12.1 India as a Biodiversity Hotspot
- 12.3 How to Classify Organisms?
- 12.4 The Need for Classification
- 12.6 Five Kingdom Classification
- 12.8 Scientific Naming: The Binomial System
- 12.9 Fossils as Evidence
- 12.10 Biodiversity Under Threat
Key points
- Five kingdoms: Monera, Protista, Fungi, Plantae, Animalia.
- Plantae: Thallophyta, Bryophyta, Pteridophyta, Gymnosperms, Angiosperms.
- Animalia is split into non-chordates (Porifera to Echinodermata) and chordates (fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals); protochordates are the transition.
- Classification shows relationships, traces the history of life and helps conservation.
Read the NCERT chapter
Read this chapter in the official NCERT textbook Exploration (2026-27 edition) for free on ncert.nic.in.
Source: NCERT, Exploration, Grade 9 (2026-27). NCERT chapter PDF. Spotted a mistake? Email edura.class9.yt@gmail.com. Last updated 11 October 2026.