Comments on: water bears

water bears

vacapinta — Mon, 24 Feb 2003 12:40:08 -0800

Strange is this little animal, because of its exceptional and strange morphology and because it closely resembles a bear en miniature. -- So says one of the first men to behold "water bears" or tardigrades as they are better known. Resembling a large gummy bear, or a bear walking on its claws, but measuring in at no larger than a few 100 microns, the tardigrade occupies its own phylum in the animal kingdom. Cuteness aside, they are also known for their extraordinary abilities to survive extreme conditions: Tardigrades can survive the process of freezing or thawing, as well as changes in salinity, extreme vacuum pressure conditions, and a lack of oxygen.

By: malphigian

malphigian — Mon, 24 Feb 2003 12:58:24 -0800

I've never heard of these before, and now I want some as pets, I wonder if I grow a small patch of moss in my apartment if they just show up. Maybe there is a marketing opputunity for the new "sea monkey" here? Any takers? (also, yay! vacapinta returns!)

By: 111

111 — Mon, 24 Feb 2003 12:58:24 -0800

Fantastic. "— lives nearby, including cities — moves smoothly like a bear, has legs, claws, eyes, skin and muscles — has the colour and surface texture of one of those sweet bear gums loved by children — doesn't need to carry along a knife and fork as it has two in-built knives — can revert to an "instant coffee"-dry state which resists storage in liquid nitrogen, contact with mineral acids, organic solvents, radioactive radiation and boiling water. After this kind of brute "scientific" scrutiny the miraculous creature is still able to return to normal life—it needs only a small droplet of water!" Sounds like a creature Edward Gorey forgot to mention on "The Utter Zoo" (.pdf).

By: wanderingmind

wanderingmind — Mon, 24 Feb 2003 13:01:34 -0800

Wow. These are cool. Thanks, Vacapinta...

By: hippugeek

hippugeek — Mon, 24 Feb 2003 13:08:19 -0800

Far be it from me to nitpick on such a great post, but shouldn't that be "resembling a small gummy bear"?

By: plep

plep — Mon, 24 Feb 2003 13:12:35 -0800

I've always been fascinated by these. When I was about 8, there was a great TV show about the strange and alien lifeforms to be found in a typical British back garden, and this creature was one of them (they like drains). And cute too.

By: Samsonov14

Samsonov14 — Mon, 24 Feb 2003 13:51:10 -0800

Sure, they're cute, but this might be a bit much. (when I have children, I'll definitely be calling them "moss piglets")

By: lnicole

lnicole — Mon, 24 Feb 2003 14:37:21 -0800

Cute, my ass... I'm afraid to find something like this crawling around my place. My skin is crawling. Neat info, though. Thanks for sharing these links.

By: Hildago

Hildago — Mon, 24 Feb 2003 14:52:32 -0800

This is a great, informative, offbeat, kinda creepy post. Thanks vacapinta.

By: sixtwenty3dc

sixtwenty3dc — Mon, 24 Feb 2003 14:54:37 -0800

great and interesting post! fascinating.

By: iconomy

iconomy — Mon, 24 Feb 2003 16:27:00 -0800

when the going gets tough, the tardigrade simply takes a nap until times are better. so whether its troubles be nuclear fallout, overdue library books or prolonged exposure to michael bolton, the tardigrade can handle it I loves me some moss piglets. They're really cugly.

By: vacapinta

vacapinta — Mon, 24 Feb 2003 17:20:45 -0800

shouldn't that be "resembling a small gummy bear"? Yes. I noticed that and a couple other typos after I hit Post. Be sure also to check out the movie section of Microscopy-UK with movies of rotifers and dustmites and lice!

By: wfrgms

wfrgms — Mon, 24 Feb 2003 18:11:47 -0800

What an interesting little critter. At 1mm (for the biggest) they should be viewable with the naked eye (esp. if you're near sighted.) Thanks for the link vacapinta!

By: taz

taz — Mon, 24 Feb 2003 22:27:07 -0800

Tardigrades... have a spear-like mouth part called a "stylet" that they use to pierce their prey and suck their juices as though through a straw. The ability of terrestrial tardigrades to undergo cryptobiosis has led some to suggest that they could be transferred by Panspermia - that is, between different planets via meteorites. Such statements would almost inspire someone to make a joke about hailing our new arthropod ruling class with open arms. Not me, mind you... but someone.

By: Civil_Disobedient

Civil_Disobedient — Tue, 25 Feb 2003 02:40:28 -0800

Hmm. Cute? Not so cute. Sickeningly adorable? Eww, get it off me. Aww, ok, it's cute.

By: troutfishing

troutfishing — Tue, 25 Feb 2003 04:57:28 -0800

Ah yes, the Tardigrades.......Are these any relation to the "Retrogrades"? And isn't time now for a post on those little mites which, I was told, come out every night (from wherever they hide out during the day) to dance around on my face and feast on skin flakes and sebum oozing from my pores?

By: chiheisen

chiheisen — Tue, 25 Feb 2003 05:34:43 -0800

You mefi'd the main link

By: zadcat

zadcat — Tue, 25 Feb 2003 18:09:33 -0800

I, for one, welcome our new tardigrade overlords.