Salinella

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Dubious species of simple animal

title: "Salinella" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["nomina-dubia", "monotypic-animal-genera"] description: "Dubious species of simple animal" topic_path: "general/nomina-dubia" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salinella" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Dubious species of simple animal ::

| image = Salinella salve Frenzel (cropped).jpg | image_alt = Johannes Frenzel's illustrations, 1892 | image_caption = Johannes Frenzel's illustrations, 1892 | grandparent_authority = R. Blackwelder, 1963 | genus = Salinella | parent_authority = J. Frenzel, 1891 | species = salve | authority = J. Frenzel, 1892 nomen inquirendum | synonyms = | synonyms_ref =

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. 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.

Discovery

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

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.

References

Bibliography

References

  1. (2005). "Invertebrados". McGraw-Hill-Interamericana.
  2. Taylor, Christopher. (June 27, 2007). "Salinella - what the crap was it?". Catalogue of Organisms.
  3. Dunning, Hayley. (October 1, 2012). "Gone Missing, circa 1892". The Scientist.
  4. Viering, Kerstin. (November 23, 2012). "Jäger der verborgenen Art". Spektrum.
  5. (2021-09-27). "Salinella". Current Biology.
  6. Frenzel, Johannes. (1892). "Untersuchungen über die mikroskopische Fauna Argentiniens". Archiv für Naturgeschichte.

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nomina-dubiamonotypic-animal-genera