Take a look at this preliminary tree of life!
(here is a link to a larger version)
It's based on whole genome sequencing, which is time and cost intensive.
What diversity!
Read all the names and you will find the tiny pink section in the upper left to span Giardia, Plasmodium, Oryza (rice), Saccharomyces (yeast), Gallus (wild chicken), Mus (mouse), Homo and Pan (chimpanzee).
If that small section contains organisms apparently so diverse to us...imagine the diversity of form, life history, energy use, protein synthesis, biochemical pathway, etc. represented by the other 85% of life.
What an amazing world...
Humans know very little. There is so much to learn, I love it.
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