Tardigrade
| Tardigrade |
|---|
| Scientific classification |
| Kingdom: Animalia |
Tardigrades (/ˈtɑːrdɪɡreɪdz/), known colloquially as water bears or moss piglets, are a phylum of eight-legged segmented micro-animals.[1] They were first described by the German zoologist Johann August Ephraim Goeze in 1773.[2]
Tardigrades are known to survive extreme conditions — temperatures as low as 0.01 K and pressures about six times greater than those in the deepest ocean trenches.
Description[edit]
A tardigrade in moss
Most tardigrades are 0.3 to 0.5 mm long when fully grown. They are short and plump, with four pairs of legs, each ending in claws or sticky pads.
Ecology
Tardigrades live in diverse habitats, including moss, lichens, leaf litter and the sea floor.[3]
References
- ^ Smith, J. (2010). Water bears.