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LIFE ATLAS 3DALL LIFE. CONNECTED.
See it in the 3D treeAll groups

Three truths

Timed
Began about 3.7 billion years ago · the last 88% of life's story
Named
≈1.7 million named living species · 99% of all named
Weighed
At least ≈471 Gt C · 86% or more of all life's carbon
Some members are not measured (no figure in Bar-On et al. 2018).

Archaea · domain

Archaea

Living · roughly 1.7 million described species

The date or placement of this group is still debated.

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Single-celled organisms without a nucleus that look like bacteria but differ deeply in their chemistry. Modern genome studies place complex cells, including ours, inside the archaea, so the classic three-way split is a simplification.

Key characteristics

  • Cell membranes built from different lipids than bacteria
  • Many thrive in extreme heat, salt or acid
  • Some produce methane
Habitat
From hot springs and salt lakes to oceans, soils and guts
Branched off
About 4.2 billion years ago (approximate)
Parent lineage
First common ancestor (LUCA)

Child lineages

Classification

  1. First common ancestor (LUCA)
  2. › Archaea

Sources