biology

Lokiarchaeum

Lokiarchaeum is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Lokiarchaeum rather than just read about it. In short: "Candidatus Lokiarchaeum" is the first discovered genus of Promethearchaeati, the kingdom from which eukaryotes emerged. It belongs to the family Promethearchaeaceae and contains the species "Ca.

Key takeaways

Lokiarchaeum belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Lokiarchaeum to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Lokiarchaeum from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

"Candidatus Lokiarchaeum" is the first discovered genus of Promethearchaeati, the kingdom from which eukaryotes emerged. It belongs to the family Promethearchaeaceae and contains the species "Ca. Lokiarchaeum primum" and "Ca. Lokiarchaeum ossiferum".

Taxonomy "Ca. Lokiarchaeum" was described in 2015 and was assigned to the phylum "Lokiarchaeota". In 2017, "Lokiarchaeota" was assigned to the superphylum "Asgard", as well as other phyla. Later, the superphylum "Asgard" was de-ranked to the phylum "Asgardarchaeota". In 2023, the species "Ca. Lokiarchaeum ossiferum" was described. In 2024, "Asgardarchaeota" was renamed to Promethearchaeota. In 2025, the unclassified species GC14_75 was pro-validly published as a type species "Ca. Lokiarchaeum primum" in Candidatus List No. 7, with the authority "Spang et al. 2015".

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Lokiarchaeum

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Lokiarchaeum claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Lokiarchaeum before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Lokiarchaeum ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Lokiarchaeum

In research: Lokiarchaeum appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Lokiarchaeum in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Lokiarchaeum is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Archaea stubs, Candidatus taxa, Monotypic archaea genera, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Lokiarchaeum outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Lokiarchaeum in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Lokiarchaeum means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Lokiarchaeum out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Lokiarchaeum in simple terms?

"Candidatus Lokiarchaeum" is the first discovered genus of Promethearchaeati, the kingdom from which eukaryotes emerged. It belongs to the family Promethearchaeaceae and contains the species "Ca.

Why does Lokiarchaeum matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Lokiarchaeum?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Lokiarchaeum.