Candidatus Thiomargarita magnifica is a species of sulfur-oxidizing gammaproteobacteria, found growing underwater on detached leaves of red mangroves from the Guadeloupe archipelago in the Lesser Antilles.

This refers to the appearance of the cells; they contain microscopic sulfur granules that scatter incident light, giving them a pearly lustre.

[5] In bacteria, both nutrients and waste products of metabolism reach the interior of the cell by diffusion, which places an upper limit on the size of these organisms.

[1] The size of this bacterium and its extreme polyploidy[clarification needed][this refers back to a topic that has not been introduced] are explained partially by its genome, which lacks many common bacterial cell division genes.

It is believed that the smaller daughter cell serves as a method of dispersion, and helps it to spread over greater distances.