futura Is it a cell, or a virus, you see? (Oh-oh, Sukunaarchaeum!) So stripped down, it depends on its host, (Yeah-yeah, blurring life's line the most!)
Gossip
Would you want a new species named after your favorite mythological character?
futura The microbe thrives inside a specific single-celled alga found in the world's oceans.
Fun Fact
Encuentro de mares: El Océano Pacífico y el Golfo de California se unen justo en el icónico Arco, donde terminan estas desérticas montañas.
Glossary
archaeon (noun)
Any of a group of single-celled prokaryotic organisms that are evolutionarily distinct from bacteria and eukaryotes. In 2025, researchers discovered a new species, Sukunaarchaeum mirabile, living inside marine plankton off the Japanese coast.
Any of a group of single-celled prokaryotic organisms that are evolutionarily distinct from bacteria and eukaryotes. In 2025, researchers discovered a new species, Sukunaarchaeum mirabile, living inside marine plankton off the Japanese coast.
Quiz
¿Cómo se llamaba la pareja de pandas gigantes que China regaló a México en 1975 como símbolo de amistad diplomática?
choko El billete de 1000 yenes muestra el reflejo del Fuji en el lago Motosu.
Fun Fact
Regalo o préstamo: Los pandas de 1975 fueron un obsequio permanente. Por eso, su descendiente Xin Xin es mexicana y libre de los costosos alquileres actuales.
Quiz
To which group of single-celled algae does the host Citharistes regius belong?
Fun Fact
Mythological microbes: Sukunaarchaeum mirabile is named after Sukuna-biko-na, a Japanese dwarf deity who supposedly rode on the waves in a tiny boat made of a feather.
Quiz
What is the genome size of Sukunaarchaeum mirabile?
Quiz
Which university led the research team that discovered Sukunaarchaeum mirabile?
Quiz
Before the discovery of Sukunaarchaeum, which archaeon held the record for the smallest genome at 490 kilobases?
Quiz
What is the specific host organism of Sukunaarchaeum mirabile?
Quiz
Which global marine database helped scientists locate relatives of Sukunaarchaeum?
futura Scientists named the newly found microbe after a miniature legendary Japanese god and the Latin word for wonderful.
Quiz
From which mythology does the name Sukunaarchaeum originate?