It is a rod-shaped hyperthermophile, discovered on the wall of a black smoker from the Gulf of California at a depth of 2,000 m, at temperatures of 84–110 °C.

Strain 116 was discovered in black smoker fluid of the Kairei hydrothermal field; it can survive and reproduce at 122 °C.

[3] Due to the species' high resilience and extreme environment, M. kandleri is also classified as an extremophile.

Beyond this compound to help protect the proteins, M. kandleri also has a high salt concentration inside its membrane.

[7] As a methanogen, M. kandleri utilizes hydrogen as an electron source and reduces carbon dioxide from the environment into methane, a process known as methanogenesis.

[8] Additionally, the evolved cellular responses in M. kandleri due to its extreme environment has been another subject of research, as scientists look to apply the resilient enzymatic processes for industrial purposes.