''Salinella salve'' is a
dubious species of a very simple
animal
Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the Biology, biological Kingdom (biology), kingdom Animalia (). With few exceptions, animals heterotroph, consume organic material, Cellular respiration#Aerobic respiration, breathe oxygen, ...
which some have named as the sole member of the
phylum
In biology, a phylum (; : phyla) is a level of classification, or taxonomic rank, that is below Kingdom (biology), kingdom and above Class (biology), class. Traditionally, in botany the term division (taxonomy), division has been used instead ...
Monoblastozoa. It was discovered in 1892 by
Johannes Frenzel in the
salt pans of
Córdoba Province, Argentina
Córdoba () is a Provinces of Argentina, province of Argentina, located in the center of the country. Its neighboring provinces are (clockwise from the north) Santiago del Estero Province, Santiago del Estero, Santa Fe Province, Santa Fe, Buenos ...
and cultivated in a laboratory by him. This animal has not been found since and its real existence is considered as doubtful. A project involving
Michael Schrödl from the
Zoological State Collection in
Munich
Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...
searched for ''Salinella'' in
salt lake
A salt lake or saline lake is a landlocked body of water that has a concentration of salts (typically sodium chloride) and other dissolved minerals significantly higher than most lakes (often defined as at least three grams of salt per liter). I ...
s across Argentina and Chile, but failed to find any specimens.
Discovery
''Salinella'' was discovered in soil samples from salt pans around
Río Cuarto, Córdoba Province, Argentina, although the exact type locality was never specified.
Description
According to Frenzel's description, ''S. salve'' is more organized than
Protozoa
Protozoa (: protozoan or protozoon; alternative plural: protozoans) are a polyphyletic group of single-celled eukaryotes, either free-living or parasitic, that feed on organic matter such as other microorganisms or organic debris. Historically ...
, but still very primitive for a
multicellular organism
A multicellular organism is an organism that consists of more than one cell (biology), cell, unlike unicellular organisms. All species of animals, Embryophyte, land plants and most fungi are multicellular, as are many algae, whereas a few organism ...
. They are characterised by their distinct anterior/posterior parts and being densely
ciliated
The cilium (: cilia; ; in Medieval Latin and in anatomy, ''cilium'') is a short hair-like membrane protrusion from many types of eukaryotic cell. (Cilia are absent in bacteria and archaea.) The cilium has the shape of a slender threadlike pr ...
, 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 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
Bibliography
*
External links
*
*
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1939217, from2=Q20672197, from3=Q21447267, from4=Q21293795
Nomina dubia
Monotypic animal genera