Ar.den.ti.ca.te.na'les. N.L. fem. n. Ardenticatena type genus of the order; suff. -ales ending to denote an order; N.L. fem. pl. n. Ardenticatenales the order of Ardenticatena.

Chloroflexi / Ardenticatenia / Ardenticatenales

Multicellular filaments of indefinite length, unbranched, and undifferentiated. Individual cells are 0.2–0.5 µm in diameter and 2 µm in length. Nonmotile. Grow under aerobic or anaerobic conditions using nitrate of ferric iron as a terminal electron acceptor. Thermophilic with optimum growth temperature between 55 and 70°C. Neither photosynthetic nor fermentative growth is observed. Spores are not formed. The cellular fatty acids consist primarily of saturated fatty acids (e.g., C_22:0 and C_19:0).

The order Ardenticatenales was proposed and validated as a subordinate taxon of the class Ardenticatenia based on its phylogenetic, chemotaxonomic, and phenotypic characteristics. The order currently includes only one family Ardenticatenaceae and a single monospecific genus, Ardenticatena. Therefore, the current description of the order is the same as for the genus Ardenticatena.

Type genus: Ardenticatena Kawaichi, Ito, Kamikawa, Sugawara, Yoshida and Sako 2013, 2999^VP.