 This archaean, discovered in 1980 by A.E.Walsby in the Gavish Sabkha, a coastal hypersaline pool (sabkha) on the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt, was not cultured until 2004.The cells typically contain polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) granules, as well as large numbers of refractile, gas-filled vacuoles which provide buoyancy in a watery environment and may help to position the cells to maximize light-harvesting.