''Salinella salve'' is a
dubious species of a very simple
animal
Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the Kingdom (biology), biological kingdom Animalia. With few exceptions, animals Heterotroph, consume organic material, Cellular respiration#Aerobic respiration, breathe oxygen, are Motilit ...
that may not exist, but which some have named as the sole member of the
phylum Monoblastozoa. It was discovered in 1892 by
Johannes Frenzel
Johannes is a Medieval Latin form of the personal name that usually appears as "John" in English language contexts. It is a variant of the Greek and Classical Latin variants (Ιωάννης, ''Ioannes''), itself derived from the Hebrew name '' Yeh ...
in the
salt pans of
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
and cultivated in a laboratory by him. This animal has not been found since and its real existence is considered as doubtful.
Michael Schrödl from the
Zoological State Collection in
Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...
is involved in a project to search for ''Salinella'' in Argentina.
''Monoblastozoa'' was granted the title of phylum after the recognition that
Mesozoa
The Mesozoa are minuscule, worm-like parasites of marine invertebrates. Generally, these tiny, elusive creatures consist of a somatoderm (outer layer) of ciliated cells surrounding one or more reproductive cells.
A recent study recovered Mesoz ...
was too diverse to be a phylum into itself.
Description
According to Frenzel's description, ''S. salve'' is more organized than
Protozoa, but still very primitive for a
multicellular organism. They are characterised by their distinct anterior/posterior parts and being densely
ciliated
The cilium, plural cilia (), is a membrane-bound organelle found on most types of eukaryotic cell, and certain microorganisms known as ciliates. Cilia are absent in bacteria and archaea. The cilium has the shape of a slender threadlike project ...
, especially around the "mouth" and "anus". They have only one layer of cells, and
reproduce asexually by
transverse fission of their bodies. Although
sexual reproduction
Sexual reproduction is a type of reproduction that involves a complex life cycle in which a gamete ( haploid reproductive cells, such as a sperm or egg cell) with a single set of chromosomes combines with another gamete to produce a zygote th ...
was suspected, Frenzel did not observe it.
See also
*
Mesotardigrada
Mesotardigrada is one of three classes of tardigrades, consisting of a single species, ''Thermozodium esakii''. The animal reportedly has six claws of equal length at each foot. This species was described in 1937 by German zoologist Gilbert Rah ...
– another high rank taxon whose sole member has not been independently verified to exist
References
External links
*
*
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1939217, from2=Q20672197, from3=Q21447267, from4=Q21293795
Obsolete animal taxa
Nomina dubia
Monotypic animal genera