Features

• Produce methane as a by-product of anaerobic conditions

• Common in sewage-treatment, bogs, ocean depths, as well as the gut of humans and cows

  • Responsible for methane gas produced in "swamp gas", as well as belching and flatulence

• Found in hot springs and deep sea hydrothermal vents, as well as, the "solid" rock of the Earth's crust

  • Do not confuse with bacteria that consume methane (CH4) as their source of carbon (methanotrophs)

• The Apex Chert, dating to 3.465 billion years ago, possesses some of the earliest evidence of life on Earth, including methanogens and methanotrophs.