Tardigrade
Tardigrade
Tardigrades (pronounced: /ˈtɑːrdɪɡreɪd/), also known as water bears or moss piglets, are a phylum of water-dwelling, eight-legged, segmented micro-animals. They were first discovered by the German zoologist Johann August Ephraim Goeze in 1773. The name 'Tardigrada' (pronounced: /tɑːrdɪˈɡrɑːdə/) is derived from the Latin words 'tardus' meaning 'slow', and 'gradus' meaning 'step'.
Anatomy
Tardigrades are typically 0.5 to 1.2 mm long when they are 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.
Physiology
Tardigrades can survive in extreme environments that would kill almost any other animal. They can withstand temperatures from just above absolute zero to well above the boiling point of water, pressures about six times greater than those found in the deepest ocean trenches, ionizing radiation at doses hundreds of times higher than the lethal dose for a human, and the vacuum of outer space.
Classification
Tardigrades are classified as follows:
- Kingdom: Animalia
- Phylum: Tardigrada
- Classes: Heterotardigrada, Eutardigrada, and Mesotardigrada
Related Terms
- Cryptobiosis: A physiological state in which metabolic activities stop, often triggered by desiccation.
- Desiccation: The state of extreme dryness, or the process of extreme drying.
- Eutelic: Having a fixed number of cells within an organism, a characteristic of tardigrades.
External links
- Medical encyclopedia article on Tardigrade
- Wikipedia's article - Tardigrade
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