5/1/24, 3:55 PM Wikijunior:Biology/Kingdoms/Archaea - Wikibooks, open books for an open world

Wikijunior:Biology/Kingdoms/Archaea

Archaea
Archaea (Archaeon if there's only
one) are a kingdom of creatures made
up of single cells. They have been on
Earth for a long, long time - longer
than plants, animals, or protists.
Their name means "old" in Ancient
Greek. They used to be grouped in
with bacteria and called
"archaeabacteria", but they were later
put into their own kingdom because
they're so different.

Like bacteria, archaea are tiny,

microscopic creatures, far too small Colorful archaea
to be seen with just your eyes. They
also have no nucleus, like bacteria as
well. Unlike bacteria, however, archaea can live in super hot and super cold climates, and also can't
give you any nasty diseases.

Archaea can live inside of animals - some even inside of humans. Don't worry though, they can't
hurt you. Many archaea live inside your intestines, feeding on matter your body can't process.
Sometimes, this can even help with digestion! Some other animals use archaea inside them in
other ways, too; for example, archaea living inside of termites help them process the wood they
chew through.

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This page was last edited on 11 March 2024, at 03:34.

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