 In 1885 , the German @-@ Austrian pediatrician Theodor <unk> discovered this organism in the feces of healthy individuals . He called it Bacterium coli commune because it is found in the colon . Early classifications of prokaryotes placed these in a handful of genera based on their shape and motility ( at that time Ernst Haeckel 's classification of bacteria in the kingdom <unk> was in place ) . 
