Bacteria Bacteria Bacteria (; common noun bacteria, singular bacterium) are a type of biological cell. They constitute a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria have a number of shapes, ranging from spheres to rods and spirals. Bacteria were among the first life forms to appear on Earth, and are present in most of its habitats. Bacteria inhabit soil, water, acidic hot springs, radioactive waste, and the deep portions of Earth's crust. Bacteria also live in symbiotic and parasitic relationships with plants and animals. Most bacteria have not been characterised, and only about half of the
Bacteria sizes, called morphologies. Bacterial cells are about one-tenth the size of eukaryotic cells and are typically 0.5–5.0 micrometres in length. However, a few species are visible to the unaided eye—for example, "Thiomargarita namibiensis" is up to half a millimetre long and "Epulopiscium fishelsoni" reaches 0.7 mm. Among the smallest bacteria are members of the genus "Mycoplasma", which measure only 0.3 micrometres, as small as the largest viruses. Some bacteria may be even smaller, but these ultramicrobacteria are not well-studied. Most bacterial species are either spherical, called "cocci" ("sing". coccus, from Greek "kókkos", grain, seed), or rod-shaped, called "bacilli" ("sing". bacillus,