Detailed 3D images of the first tardigrade fossils ever discovered help scientists predict when tardigrades evolved their near-indestructibility, which helps them survive in extreme environments.
About Tardigrades:
Tardigrades, often called water bears or moss piglets, are microscopic eight-legged animals.
They are free-living tiny invertebratesbelonging to the phylum Tardigrada.
Around 1,300 species of tardigrades are found worldwide.
Habitat:
Considered aquatic because they require a thin layer of water around their bodies to prevent dehydration, they’ve also been observed in all kinds of environments, from the deep sea to sand dunes.
Freshwater mosses and lichens are their preferred habitat, hence their nickname, moss piglet.
They belong to an elite category of animals known as extremophiles, or critters that can survive extreme environments.
They can survive punishing heat, freezing cold, ultraviolet radiation and even outer space.
Under unfavourable conditions, they go into a state of suspended animation called the “tun” state—in which the body dries out and appears as a lifeless ball (or tun).
Tardigrades can survive as tuns for years or even decades.
Physical Features:
Tardigrades are short, plump, and covered in a tough cuticle (similar to that of grasshoppers and other insects) that they must shed to grow.
Tardigrades are mostly about 1 mm (0.04 inch) or less in size.
Their tiny bodies contain no bones and are instead supported by a hydrostatic skeleton – a fluid-filled compartment known as a hemolymph.
They have four pairs of legs, with 4-6 claws on each foot.
Their specialised mouthpart–called a buccopharyngeal apparatus–allows them to suck the nutrients out of plants and other microorganisms.
Dear Student,
You have still not entered your mailing address. Please enter the address where all the study materials will be sent to you. (If applicable).