What is Tardigrade?

What is Tardigrade?

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Everyone knows about the impressive range of species that we have here on Earth, all capable of surviving humans with weak skin.

For example, the cockroach - capable of surviving a nuclear explosion.

But have you ever heard of that micro wonder Tardigrade?

Here, we will explore Tardigrade, learn how it survived the blazing heat, the pressure out of this world, and many other terrifying conditions.

I heard you say what is a tardigrade?

Some believe they could be extraterrestrial simply due to their enormous and exotic properties.

They are eight-legged creatures with an average size of 1mm with the smallest being 0.05mm and the largest being 1.2mm.

Discovered in 1773 by Johann August Ephraim Goeze, they may also be called moss piglets.

Incredibly, they are capable of surviving almost any situation, including radiation and pressure of space for days.

Where do they live?

When it comes to climatic requirements, they have a huge viable temperature range from -328 ° F to 300 ° F or -200 ° C to 149 ° C.

I heard you ask where would you find these rioters on our wonderful planet?

Well, tardigrade species live in a wide variety of environments from rainforests to mountain tops, but prefer deep, furry areas, which live on the bottom of the lake hidden among mosses.

The name "Tardigrade" was given to this animal in 1776 and it actually comes from the Italian word for Slow Stepper, or Tardigrada.

Why are they so cool?

As we mentioned, the Tardigrade is a rather resilient creature, using its cryptobiosis state, which is when the organism is in a near dead state or animation is suspended, until they reach their condition.

This hovering animation is impressive enough, but can you believe they are capable of surviving supernovae?

Not to mention, they can resist the need to eat for an incredible 30 years through the process!

According to certain studies, these wonderful creatures have a downside.

Over a period of 500 million years, these little miracles have outlived five times the mass extinction.

In some cases, they can essentially replicate themselves by growing embryos inside an egg without fertilization from any host other than themselves.

So we've got it!

They are certainly not the most beautiful thing in the world, nor the biggest or the fastest, but they're incredibly interesting.

I mean, what other creature is able to withstand a gamma-ray burst?