Often thermophilic or hyperthermophilic as well as often histone-less taxon of domain Archaea.
Members of the Crenarchaeota are definitively isolated from . They include thermophiles and hyperthermophiles as well as acidophiles, including in combinations. They probably represent a kingdom-level taxon.
Though the highest known have been found among the Crenarchaeota, they are also found abundantly at "normal" temperatures in and are found as well in and environments.
Metabolically, the Crenarchaota include both chemoheterotrophs (i.e., ) and chemoautotrophs (i.e., ). They also display a diversity of oxygen requirements and include obligate anaerobes and facultative anaerobes as well as aerobes.
Families found among the Crenarchaeota include:
Included particularly among the Crenarchaeota is genus , which is a member of... Additional genera include:
Contrast Crenarchaeota with Euryarchaeota.