Scientists discovered the
largest bacterium known to man in a shallow mangrove swamp in the Caribbean.
The discovery is
redefining the possibilities of one of the ancient life forms on the planet.
Called Thiomargarita Magnifica,
the bacteria is noteworthy for both its size and internal architecture.
Said Jean-Marie Volland
The thin white filament, approximately the size of a human eyelash, is “by far the largest bacterium known to date,”
This species averages
10,000 micrometers (four-tenths of an inch/1 cm) long, with some Thiomargarita Magnifica twice that length.
The largest known bacterium
until now had a maximum length of around 750 micrometers.“It is thousands of times larger than regular-sized bacteria.
It is orders of magnitude
bigger than what we thought was the maximum possible size for a single bacterium.