''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
In biology, a phylum (; plural: phyla) is a level of classification or taxonomic rank below kingdom and above class. Traditionally, in botany the term division has been used instead of phylum, although the International Code of Nomenclature f ...
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 States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...
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
Protozoa (singular: protozoan or protozoon; alternative plural: protozoans) are a group of single-celled eukaryotes, either free-living or parasitic, that feed on organic matter such as other microorganisms or organic tissues and debris. Histo ...
, but still very primitive for a
multicellular organism
A multicellular organism is an organism that consists of more than one cell, in contrast to unicellular organism.
All species of animals, land plants and most fungi are multicellular, as are many algae, whereas a few organisms are partially uni- ...
. 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 projecti ...
, especially around the "mouth" and "anus". They have only one layer of cells, and
reproduce asexually
Asexual reproduction is a type of reproduction that does not involve the fusion of gametes or change in the number of chromosomes. The offspring that arise by asexual reproduction from either unicellular or multicellular organisms inherit the fu ...
by
transverse fission Strobilisation or transverse fission is a form of asexual reproduction consisting of the spontaneous transverse segmentation of the body. It is observed in certain cnidarians and helminths. This mode of reproduction is characterized by high offspr ...
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 tha ...
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