Katodilla

Katodilla is a fictional genus of bacteria created for science fiction and educational demonstrations. It is not recognized by real-world taxonomic databases such as the List of Prokaryotic names with Standing in Nomenclature.

In the fictional scheme, Katodilla belongs to the domain Bacteria, phylum Proteobacteria, class Deltaproteobacteria, order Desulfovibrionales, family Katodillaceae. Descriptions typically portray Katodilla as Gram-negative, rod-shaped, motile by peritrichous flagella, measuring 0.5–2.0 micrometers.

Katodilla is described as a facultative anaerobe capable of sulfate reduction and organic matter oxidation, often inhabiting marine sediment interfaces or hydrothermal-vent–influenced zones. In some narratives it participates in syntrophic relationships with sulfur-reducing bacteria.

It appears in certain science fiction works and teaching exemplars to illustrate how new microbial taxa are described, named, and placed within a taxonomic framework, highlighting the distinction between real taxa and fictional constructs.

The name katodilla is typically presented as a constructed Latinized genus name; “kato-” may evoke downward or studied in the fiction, while “-dilla” is a conventional suffix for genus-level names.

See also: fictional biology, list of fictional organisms, taxonomy in fiction.