We provide a comprehensive list of microorganisms (algae, Archaea, bacteria,
cyanobacteria, fungi, and Protista) inhabiting cryoconite holes on glaciers
throughout the world, giving an updated taxonomy accompanied by geographic
coordinates and localities. The list consists of 370 taxa reported from
cryoconite holes (mostly from Arctic and Antarctic regions and European Alps).
However, most of the taxa were not identified to the species level. Until now
only 39 identified species or subspecies of bacteria and Archaea, 11 fungi, 17
cyanobacteria, 62 algae, and 13 Protista are known from cryoconite holes, which
are only about 38% of total number of taxa reported from these ephemeral
environments. Almost 62% of the taxa were marked as cf.
(confer) or were identified only to the genera or even to
the higher taxonomic units (such as families or orders). This wide and detailed
review assists other scientists to identify the gaps in our knowledge about
cryobionts and indicates directions for further zoogeographical and taxonomical
studies in this unique freshwater habitat.