The kingdom monera only exists in the five-kingdom system. Monerans were put into kingdom plantae in the two-kingdom system, and into protista in the three-kingdom system. Putting monerans into a separate kingdom was very useful because monerans aren't quite protists, and aren't like plants at all.

Members of the kingdom monera have the following characteristics:

  • Prokaryotic
  • Unicellular
  • Some monerans are anaerobic, others are aerobic
  • Some are heterotrophic, others are autotrophic
  • Autotrophic monerans either utilize photosynthesis or chemosynthesis
  • They live in moist environments
  • The monera kingdom can be split into two kingdoms, eubacteria and archaebacteria, creating a six-kindom system.