• Question: What is the biggest micro organism?

    Asked by anon-231255 to Tom, Steven, Jessica, Haafizah, Clio, Bruno Silvester on 8 Nov 2019.
    • Photo: Bruno Silvester Lopes

      Bruno Silvester Lopes answered on 8 Nov 2019:

      Thiomargarita namibiensis is the largest bacterium ever discovered. Heide Schulz a biologist from the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology discovered it on the Namibian coast in southwestern Africa. Previous record was held by Epulopiscium fishelsoni.

    • Photo: Tom Snelling

      Tom Snelling answered on 9 Nov 2019:

      A microorganism is a living thing that is so small that it can not be seen by the eye without using a microscope! The largest living thing that fits this description is a type of bacteria called Thiomargarita namibiensis. However, there are probably bacteria that we have not yet discovered which are even bigger!

    • Photo: Clio Andreae

      Clio Andreae answered on 11 Nov 2019:

      What they said. I hadn’t heard of it before so I have learnt something new today 🙂

    • Photo: Jessica Mitchell

      Jessica Mitchell answered on 11 Nov 2019:

      I’m a bit late to the party on this question! As Tom and Bruno say its Thiomargarita namibiensis. Some times (not always) these bacteria are so large you can see them without a microscope!

      The name Thiomargarita means “sulfur pearl” because the bacteria have tiny grains of sulphur in them, sulphur is a common (smelly) element found in the deep oceans where this bacteria lives.

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