You don't need a microscope to see this bacteria - scientists have recently discovered a new bacterium that is large enough to be seen by the naked eye.
Thiomargarita Magnifica, a reference to its exceptional size, has been found in the French overseas region of Guadeloupe.
The discovery was detailed in a study published in the Science journal on Thursday by microbiologist Jean-Marie Volland and his colleagues.
According to the study, the bacterium has an average cell length of 9000 micrometres - almost 1cm. Most bacterial species are about two micrometres long but Thiomargarita Magnifica can grow up to 2cm long, the study said.
"They grow much larger than what was thought to be the maximum possible size for bacteria," Dr Volland told a press briefing at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California.
"It is the equivalent for us, humans, to encounter another human who would be as tall as Mt Everest."
The study found that Thiomargarita Magnifica has an extended network of membranes that can produce energy - so it doesn't rely only on the surface of the bacterium to absorb nutrients through its cell.
For most bacteria, their DNA floats freely within the cytoplasm of their cells. This newly discovered species of bacteria keeps its DNA more organized.
"The big surprise of the project was to realize that these genome copies that are spread throughout the whole cell are actually contained within a structure that has a membrane," Dr Volland said in a press release. "And this is very unexpected for a bacterium."
Thiomargarita Magnifica was first discovered in 2009 by Olivier Gros, a biologist at the University of the Antilles while surveying the shallow tropical marine mangrove swamps in Guadeloupe.
It was found growing as thin white filaments on the surfaces of decaying mangrove leaves.
Dr Gros joined forces with Dr Volland and other scientists to look more closely at the strange organisms, finally revealing their findings on Thursday.
The study's hypothesis is that Thiomargarita Magnifica's huge supply of DNA may let it create the extra proteins it needs to get big.
Dr Volland hopes after they start growing the bacteria they will be able to confirm this.
"How big they can get? We don't really know," he said. "But now, this bacterium has shown us the way."
