thermoplasma thermoplasma in taxonomy, thermoplasma is a genus of the thermoplasmataceae. thermoplasma scientific classification domain: archaea kingdom: euryarchaeota phylum: euryarchaeota class: thermoplasmata order: thermoplasmatales family: thermoplasmataceae genus: thermoplasmadarland et al. 1970 type species thermoplasma acidophilumdarland et al. 1970 species t. acidophilum t. thiooxidans t. volcanium thermoplasma is a genus of archaea. it belongs to the thermoplasmata, which thrive in acidic and high-temperature environments. thermoplasma are facultative anaerobes and respire using sulfur and organic carbon. they do not contain a cell wall but instead contain a unique membrane composed mainly of a tetraether lipoglycan containing atypical archaeal tetraether lipid attached to a glucose- and mannose-containing oligosaccharide. this lipoglycan is presumably responsible for the acid and thermal stability of the thermoplasma membrane.