What are the Archea? Archaea were discovered in the early 1970s. Like bacteria, they are unicellular. The unique DNA structure of the Archaea places it in the individual realm. There is still a lot of information we don't know about archaea. Most of them can survive in extremely extreme environments and are known as extremophiles. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essayArchaean CellsWe cannot see Archaeans with the naked eye, it is a very small organism that must be observed under a microscope. Archaea have a variety of shapes including cocci (round), bacilli (rod-shaped), and irregular shapes. The structure of Archean cells is identical to the structure of prokaryotic cells and includes: plasmid DNA, cell wall, cell membrane, cytoplasm and ribosomes. Some archaea also have long whip-like extensions called flagella, which maintain movement. Archaea DomainArchaea is now an individual domain. Under the domain of the archaea there are three main phyla. They are Crenarchaeota, Euryarchaeota and Korarchaeota. CrenarchaeotaCrenarchaeota includes hyperthermophiles and thermoacidophiles. Hyperthermophilic microorganisms live in extremely hot or cold environments. Thermoacidophiles are microscopic organisms that live in extremely hot and acidic environments. Their habitats have a pH between 5 and 1. Examples of Crenarchaeota include Sulfolobus acidocaldarius - which we can find near volcanic environments in hot, acidic sulfur-containing springs. Another example is Pyrolobus fumarii, which lives at temperatures between 90 and 113 degrees Celsius. Euryarchaeota Euryarchaeota organisms include mainly extreme halophiles and methanogens. Extreme halophilic organisms live in salty habitats. They need to live in salty environments to survive. Methanogens require oxygen-free (anaerobic) conditions to survive. They produce methane gas as a byproduct of metabolism. The natural habitat of this organism is swamps, wetlands, frozen lakes, animal entrails and wastewater. An example of a Euryarchaeota species is Halobacterium, which is a halophilic organism. Korarchaeota Please note: this is just a sample. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay Korarchaeota is a very primitive life form. We do not know much about the main characteristics of this organism. We know they are thermophilic and have been found in hot springs and obsidian pools.