Salinella

Salinella
Johannes Frenzel's illustrations, 1892
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Monoblastozoa R. Blackwelder, 1963
Genus:	Salinella J. Frenzel, 1891[1]
Species:	S. salve
Binomial name
Salinella salve J. Frenzel, 1892[1] nomen inquirendum

Salinella salve is a dubious species of a very simple animal which some have named as the sole member of the phylum Monoblastozoa. It was discovered in 1892 by Johannes Frenzel in the salt pans of Córdoba Province, Argentina and cultivated in a laboratory by him. This animal has not been found since and its real existence is considered as doubtful.[2][3] A project involving Michael Schrödl from the Zoological State Collection in Munich searched for Salinella in salt lakes across Argentina and Chile, but failed to find any specimens.[4][5][6]

Discovery

Salinella was discovered in soil samples from salt pans around Río Cuarto, Córdoba Province, Argentina, although the exact type locality was never specified.[6]

Description

According to Frenzel's description, S. salve is more organized than Protozoa, but still very primitive for a multicellular organism. They are characterised by their distinct anterior/posterior parts and being densely ciliated, 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 was suspected, Frenzel did not observe it.[7]

See also

• Mesotardigrada – another high rank taxon whose sole member has not been independently verified to exist

References

1. Acosta 2015, p. 89.
2. Brusca, R. C.; Brusca, G. J. (2005). Invertebrados (2nd ed.). Madrid: McGraw-Hill-Interamericana. ISBN 978-0-87893-097-5.
3. Taylor, Christopher (June 27, 2007). "Salinella - what the crap was it?". Catalogue of Organisms.
4. Dunning, Hayley (October 1, 2012). "Gone Missing, circa 1892". The Scientist.
5. Viering, Kerstin (November 23, 2012). "Jäger der verborgenen Art". Spektrum.
6. Tihelka, Erik; Cai, Chenyang (2021-09-27). "Salinella". Current Biology. 31 (18): R1070 – R1071. Bibcode:2021CBio...31R1070T. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2021.07.013. PMID 34582810.
7. Frenzel, Johannes (1892). "Untersuchungen über die mikroskopische Fauna Argentiniens". Archiv für Naturgeschichte (in German). 58: 66–96, Plate VII.

Bibliography

• Acosta, Luis Eduardo (March 2015). "Historia de la Zoología en la Universidad de Córdoba: los primeros años (1872-1916)" [History of Zoology at the University of Córdoba: the beginning years (1872-1916)]. Revista de la Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales (in Spanish). 2 (1). ISSN 0373-9686.

External links

• Media related to Salinella at Wikimedia Commons
• Data related to Salinella at Wikispecies