keemiales

Keemiales is a fictional taxon used in speculative biology and science-fiction worldbuilding. It is described as an order of photosynthetic unicellular eukaryotes that inhabit aquatic environments and exhibit a distinctive combination of traits borrowed from various real groups. The name derives from the fictional researcher Keemia and uses the standard taxonomic suffix -ales to designate an order.

Taxonomy and classification: In the imagined framework, keemiales sit within a broad, informal grouping of plastid-bearing protists. The order comprises several genera, such as Keemia and Keemelon, united by a common plastid derived from secondary endosymbiosis and by motile, flagellated cells.

Morphology and physiology: Keemial cells range from about 3 to 15 micrometers in diameter. They are typically unicellular or occur as simple colonies. Most possess one or two flagella used for locomotion and an eyespot-like organelle for light sensing. Plastids give them a distinctive pigment mix not exactly matching any real-world algae.

Ecology and life history: Keemiales occupy coastal and freshwater habitats, often in nutrient-rich zones. They contribute to primary production and participate in microbe–invertebrate interactions; some hypothetical variants describe sexual processes in response to stress.

Significance: As a fictional construct, keemiales are used to illustrate questions about endosymbiosis, early plastid evolution, and the challenges of microbial taxonomy in speculative biology.

See also: speculative taxonomy, worldbuilding, phycology in fiction.