Archaea
In brief
Like bacteria, archaea lack a membrane-enclosed nucleus. Their cell envelopes differ, however: characteristic membrane lipids have branched chains with ether linkages, and their walls lack bacterial peptidoglycan. Cells that look similar can therefore differ substantially at the molecular level. [2]
Evidence for this statement
EcoGenesis
Where to check this statement
- biology55-S02
- Cell shapes, plasma membrane and cell wall; archaeal lipids and absence of bacterial peptidoglycan. Historical phylum tables excluded.
Photographs and illustrations
Save, investigate and check this version
Editorial draft · human review pending
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Archaea: distinctive cell envelopes
Archaea inhabit both moderate and extreme environments. Growth at high salinity or temperature characterizes particular representatives, rather than defining the entire group.
[3]Evidence for this statement
EcoGenesis
Where to check this statement
- biology55-S03
- Moderate and extreme environments; mistaken bacterial labels for particular archaeal examples excluded.
Reading this page
A habitat name does not identify an organism. For a sample record, check whether the name refers to an isolated organism, a genome or a mixed community. A missing local article does not establish a lack of scientific information.
Evidence for this statement
EcoGenesis
Try it
Select an available representative and record its identity source, material type and documented environmental conditions separately. Leave unknown information explicitly unknown.
Evidence for this statement
EcoGenesis
This group in the catalogue
The installed Catalogue of Life places Archaea at the rank of domain. Accepted record col:CRLT8 belongs to COL26.7 Base, 2026-07-14. The authored scientific name is retained alongside the shorter name; navigation uses the record identifier.
[1]Evidence for this statement
EcoGenesis
Where to check this statement
- classification55-CRLT8
- Installed classification: exact record, ancestor path and direct-child count. This is not a new phylogeny or a biological review.
This record has no parent row in the installed index. That is a boundary of this classification representation, not a conclusion that deeper evolutionary relationships are absent.
[1]Evidence for this statement
EcoGenesis
Where to check this statement
- classification55-CRLT8
- Installed classification: exact record, ancestor path and direct-child count. This is not a new phylogeny or a biological review.
This index version contains 4 direct child records. This counts the next level of the tree, not all species, organisms, observations or studied genomes in the group.
[1]Evidence for this statement
EcoGenesis
Where to check this statement
- classification55-CRLT8
- Installed classification: exact record, ancestor path and direct-child count. This is not a new phylogeny or a biological review.
From group to species
Prepared examples in this branch are Methanocaldococcus jannaschii, Halobacterium salinarum. Membership was checked in the same CoL release. Opening an example leads to its separate species record. Its geography, traits and sequences do not become properties of every member of the group.
[1]Evidence for this statement
EcoGenesis
Where to check this statement
- classification55-CRLT8
- Installed classification: exact record, ancestor path and direct-child count. This is not a new phylogeny or a biological review.
Next question
Choose an example and frame a question at species or specimen level. On the map, preserve the exact filter and observation source; in molecular searches, preserve assembly, gene and sequence version. If a dataset is unavailable, leave the question open. A missing service response does not establish biological absence.
Evidence for this statement
EcoGenesis
Continue exploring
Classification record and its scope
Inspect structured data
- col id
- CRLT8
- scientific name
- Archaea Woese et al., 2024
- rank
- domain
- parent id
- —
- child count
- 4
- source release
- COL26.7 Base, 2026-07-14
- source sha256
- 891457d62af389842924ef1de8bd6fbbdf9f6b03428ef5dd487bed4d04c0ace0
- classification semantics
- provider_source_classification_only
- phylogeny
- False
- lineage
- col id
- CRLT8
- scientific name
- Archaea Woese et al., 2024
- rank
- domain
- status
- accepted
Evidence for this statement
Source annotation
Where to check this statement
- classification55-CRLT8
- Installed classification: exact record, ancestor path and direct-child count. This is not a new phylogeny or a biological review.
Continue exploring
Sources and versions
Editorial draft · human review pending
- Archaea · Catalogue of Life
2026-09-19T12:02:54.209836+00:00 · Terms of use on source site
Provenance and original
- Source version
- COL26.7 Base, 2026-07-14
- Original SHA-256
- 891457d62af389842924ef1de8bd6fbbdf9f6b03428ef5dd487bed4d04c0ace0
- Source reading scope
- Installed classification: exact record, ancestor path and direct-child count. This is not a new phylogeny or a biological review.
- Location in the original source
- Installed classification: exact record, ancestor path and direct-child count. This is not a new phylogeny or a biological review.
- OpenStax 22.2 — Structure of Prokaryotes: Bacteria and Archaea
2026-09-19 · CC-BY-NC-SA-4.0
Provenance and original
- Source version
- Biology 2e (2018); page inspected 2026-09-19
- Source reading scope
- Cell shapes, plasma membrane and cell wall; archaeal lipids and absence of bacterial peptidoglycan. Historical phylum tables excluded.
- Location in the original source
- Cell shapes, plasma membrane and cell wall; archaeal lipids and absence of bacterial peptidoglycan. Historical phylum tables excluded.
- OpenStax 22.1 — Prokaryotic Diversity
2026-09-19 · CC-BY-NC-SA-4.0
Provenance and original
- Source version
- Biology 2e (2018); page inspected 2026-09-19
- Source reading scope
- Moderate and extreme environments; mistaken bacterial labels for particular archaeal examples excluded.
- Location in the original source
- Moderate and extreme environments; mistaken bacterial labels for particular archaeal examples excluded.
Inspect structured data
- Content version
- 3c3bf2d6c50c9691a115ea060b099542df842bdf9481bfc560049b1a90f9bed0
- Source version
- COL26.7@891457d62af389842924ef1de8bd6fbbdf9f6b03428ef5dd487bed4d04c0ace0
- Updated
- 2026-10-01