Archaebacteria are primitive, single-celled microorganisms that are prokaryotes with no cell nucleus. Each archaea has the ability to live in very severe environments.
Archaebacteria are classified as one of the six kingdoms of life that living organisms are broken into: plants, animals, protists, fungi, eubacteria (or true bacteria), and archaebacteria. Archaebacteria examples have unusual cell walls, membranes, ribosomes, and RNA sequences. They often have the ability to produce methane.
Crenarchaeota Examples
One type of archaebacteria is crenarchaeota, which can live in extreme temperatures or acidity.
Examples include:
- Acidilobus saccharovorans
- Aeropyrum pernix
- Desulfurococcus kamchatkensis
- Hyperthermus butylicus
- Igniococcus hospitalis
- Ignisphaera aggregans
- Pyrolobus fumarii
- Staphylothermus hellenicus
- Staphylothermus marinus
- Thermosphaera aggregans
- Acidianus hospitalis
- Metallosphaera cuprina
- Metallosphaera sedula
- Sulfolobus acidocaldarius
- Sulfolobus islandicus
- Sulfolobus solfataricus
- Sulfolobus tokodaii
- Caldivirg maquilingensis
- Pyrobaculum aerophilum
- Pyrobaculum arsenaticum
- Pyrobaculum calidifontis
- Pyrobaculum islandicum
- Thermofilum pendens
- Thermoproteus neutrophilus
- Thermoproteus tenax
- Thermoproteus uzoniensis
- Vulcanisaeta distributa
- Vulcanisaeta moutnovskia
Euryarchaeota Examples
Another type of archaebacteria is euryarchaeota, which include ones who produce methane or live in water with high salt content.
Examples include:
- Archaeoglobus fulgidus
- Archaeoglobus veneficus
- Archaeoglobus profundus
- Ferroglobus placidus
- Halalkalicoccus jeotgali
- Haloarcula hispanica
- Haloarcula marismortui
- Halobacterium salinarum
- Halobiforma lacisalsi
- Haloferax volcanii
- Halogeometricum borinquense
- Halomicrobium mukohataei
- Halopiger xanaduensis
- Haloquadratum walsbyi
- Halorhabdus tiamatea
- Halorhabdus utahensis
- Halorubrum lacusprofundi
- Haloterrigena turkmenica
- Natrialba asiatica
- Natrialba magadii
- Natronomonas pharaonis
- Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum
- Methanobrevibacter ruminantium
- Methanobrevibacter smithii
- Methanosphaera stadtmanae
- Methanothermobacter marburgensis
- Methanothermus fervidus
- Methanocaldococcus fervens
- Methanocaldococcus infernus
- Methanocaldococcus jannaschii
- Methanocaldococcus vulcanius
- Methanococcus aeolicus
- Methanococcus maripaludis
- Methanococcus vannielii
- Methanococcus voltae
- Methanothermococcus okinawensis
- Methanotorris igneus
- Candidatus Methanoregula boonei
- Methanocella paludicola
- Methanocella conradii
- Methanococcoides burtonii
- Methanocorpusculum labreanum
- Methanoculleus marisnigri
- Methanohalobium evestigatum
- Methanohalophilus mahii
- Methanoplanus petrolearius
- Methanosalsum zhilinae
- Methanosaeta concilii
- Methanosaeta harundinacea
- Methanosaeta thermophila
- Methanosarcina acetivorans
- Methanosarcina barkeri
- Methanosarcina mazei
- Methanosphaerula palustris
- Methanospirillum hungatei
- Methanopyrus kandleri
- Pyrococcus abyssi
- Pyrococcus furiosus
- Pyrococcus horikoshii
- Pyrococcus yayanosii
- Thermococcus barophilus
- Thermococcus gammatolerans
- Thermococcus kodakaraensis
- Thermococcus onnurineus
- Thermococcus sibiricus
- Ferroplasma acidarmanus
- Picrophilus torridus
- Thermoplasma acidophilum
- Thermoplasma volcanium
Methanogen Examples
Methanogens are archaea that produce methane gas as a metabolic by-product in areas of low oxygen content. They are found in human intestines, wetlands, hot springs or geothermal vents.
Examples include these strains:
- Methanobacterium bryantii
- Methanobacterium formicum
- Methanobrevibacter arboriphilicus
- Methanobrevibacter gottschalkii
- Methanobrevibacter ruminantium
- Methanobrevibacter smithii
- Methanocalculus chunghsingensis
- Methanococcoides burtonii
- Methanococcus aeolicus
- Methanococcus deltae
- Methanococcus jannaschii
- Methanococcus maripaludis
- Methanococcus vannielii
- Methanocorpusculum labreanum
- Methanoculleus bourgensis
- Methanoculleus marisnigri
- Methanofollis liminatans
- Methanogenium cariaci
- Methanogenium frigidum
- Methanogenium organophilum
- Methanogenium wolfei
- Methanomicrobium mobile
- Methanopyrus kandleri
- Methanoregula boonei
- Methanosaeta concilii
- Methanosaeta thermophila
- Methanosarcina acetivorans
- Methanosarcina barkeri
- Methanosarcina mazei
- Methanosphaera stadtmanae
- Methanospirillium hungatei
- Methanothermobacter defluvii
- Methanothermobacter thermautotrophicus
- Methanothermobacter thermoflexus
- Methanothermobacter wolfei
- Methanothrix sochngenii
Halobacteriaceae Examples
Halobacteriaceae are archaebacteria that live in highly-saturated salty environments.
Examples include:
- Haladaptatus
- Halalkalicoccus
- Halarchaeum
- Haloalcalophilium
- Haloarcula
- Halobacterium
- Halobaculum
- Halobellus
- Halobiforma
- Halococcus
- Haloferax
- Halogeometricum
- Halogranum
- Halolamina
- Halomarina
- Halomicrobium
- Halonotius
- Halopelagius
- Halopiger
- Haloplanus
- Haloquadratum
- Halorhabdus
- Halorientalis
- Halorubrum
- Halorussus
- Halosarcina
- Halosimplex
- Halostagnicola
- Haloterrigena
- Halovivax
- Natrialba
- Natrinema
- Natronoarchaeum
- Natronobacterium
- Natronococcus
- Natronolimnobius
- Natronomonas
- Natronorubrum
- Salarchaeum
Thermophiles Examples
Thermophiles are archaebacteria that live at extremely hot temperatures, as in geothermal environments.
Examples of species of the genus Sulfolobus include:
- Sulfolobus acidocaldarius
- Sulfolobus islandicus
- Sulfolobus metallicus
- Sulfolobus neozealandicus
- Sulfolobus shibatae
- Sulfolobus solfataricus
- Sulfolobus tengchongensis
- Sulfolobus thuringiensis
- Sulfolobus tokodaii
- Sulfolobus yangmingensis
Psychrophiles Examples
Psychrophiles are archaebacteria that thrive in extremely cold temperatures from a polar region to the deep sea.
Examples include:
- Methanogenium boonei
- Methanogenium cariaci
- Methanogenium frigidum
- Methanogenium marinum
- Methanogenium organophilum
- Methanococcoides burtonii
- Methanococcus aeolicus
- Methanococcus maripaludis
- Methanococcus vannielii
- Methanococcus voltae
- Methanococcus thermolithotrophicus
- Methanococcus jannaschi
Other Archaebacteria Examples
- Candidatus Korarchaeum cryptofilum
- Nanoarchaeum equitans
- Cenarchaeum symbiosum - Strain A
- Cenarchaeum symbiosum - Strain B
- Candidatus Nitrosoarchaeum limnia
Nitrosopumilus maritimus
Kingdoms of LifeBy the mid 20th century a system of five kingdoms had become accepted as the model for classifying all living things: bacteria and the four eukaryotic kingdoms of plants, animals, fungi, and protists. In the late 1970s, Dr. Carl Woese found that there were actually distinct groups within bacteria and those that lived at high temperatures or produced methane were very different from the usual bacteria. These were classified as archaebacteria and recognized as a sixth kingdom. Woese later decided that the term archaebacteria was misleading, and shortened it to archaea.
Still interested in single-celled organisms? We'll show you the many strains of the five types of bacteria.