haloarchaea

[ hal-oh-ahr-kee-uh ]

plural noun

, singular hal·o·ar·chae·on [hal-oh-, ahr, -kee-on].

1. Microbiology. a group of archaea requiring a salt-rich environment for growth and survival, and having no chlorophyll but a distinctive purplish pigmentation by which photosynthesis occurs.

Word History and Origins

Origin of haloarchaea¹

First recorded in 1995–2000; halo- ( def ) + archaea ( def )