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What animal lives on land, in the air, and in the water?
A reader wants to know!
Well, there is a species:
It is the water bear, or moss piglet, or tardigrade animal!
What is it?
Tardigrades are invertebrates belonging to the phylum Tardigrada. There are more than 1,300 species of these free-living, tiny creatures. They are related to arthropods, crustaceans, insects, & nematodes. They are microscopic eight-legged animals that have been in outer space.
Environments:
They can survive in extreme environments by going into a ‘tun’ state where their bodies dry out; their metabolism drops to 0.01%. Not only that, but they can stay in the ‘tun’ state for decades and tolerate temperatures below zero and above boiling.
Yes, and they survive the ocean’s deepest trenches and in the vacuum of space.
When conditions return to normal, the animal revives itself.
Size:
Water bears are about 1 millimeter or less in size.
What kind of appearance?
Tardigrades have a well-developed head and short body composed of four fused segments. Each segment bears a pair of short, stout…
