Tardigrades (/ˈtÉ'Ë rdɪɡreɪd/), known colloquially as water bears
or moss piglets, are a phylum of eight-legged segmented micro-animals.
They were first described by the German zoologist Johann August
Ephraim Goeze in 1773, who called them little water bears. In 1777,
the Italian biologist Lazzaro Spallanzani named them Tardigrada, which
means "slow steppers".They have been found everywhere, from
mountaintops to the deep sea and mud volcanoes, and from tropical
rainforests to the Antarctic. Tardigrades are among the most resilient
animals known, with individual species able to survive extreme
conditionsâ€"such as exposure to extreme temperatures, extreme
pressures (both high and low), air deprivation, radiation,
dehydration, and starvationâ€"that would quickly kill most other known
forms of life. Tardigrades have survived exposure to outer space.
There are about 1,300 known species in the phylum Tardigrada, a part
of the superphylum Ecdysozoa consisting of animals that grow by
ecdysis such as arthropods and nematodes. The earliest known true
members of the group are known from Cretaceous amber in North America,
but are essentially modern forms, and therefore likely have a
significantly earlier origin, as they diverged from their closest
relatives in the Cambrian, over 500 million years ago.Tardigrades are
usually about 0.5 mm (0.02 in) long when fully grown. They are short
and plump, with four pairs of legs, each ending in claws (usually four
to eight) or suction disks. Tardigrades are prevalent in mosses and
lichens and feed on plant cells, algae, and small invertebrates. When
collected, they may be viewed under a low-power microscope, making
them accessible to students and amateur scientists. Tardigrade Biography, NetWorth, Height, Age, Weight, Family, Married, Son, Daughter