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

Three truths

Timed
Branched off about 2.7 billion years ago · the last 64% of life's story
Named
≈5 named living species · under 0.001% of all named
Weighed
Part of Archaea (≈7 Gt C), not measured separately.

Archaea · group

Lokiarchaeota

Living · roughly 5 described species

No licensed image yet. Images will be added only with clear licences and credit.

The first Asgard lineage described, found in sediments near a hydrothermal vent field called Loki's Castle.

Found near a deep-sea vent called Loki's Castle; among our closest single-celled relatives.

Key characteristics

  • Among the closest known single-celled relatives of eukaryotes
  • First identified from environmental DNA
  • Gave its name to the Asgard archaea
Habitat
Deep marine sediments
Branched off
About 2.7 billion years ago (approximate)
Parent lineage
Asgard archaea

Classification

  1. First common ancestor (LUCA)
  2. › Archaea
  3. › Asgard archaea
  4. › Lokiarchaeota

Sources