Don’t let their cute nickname fool you.
This is a tardigrade.
They're tiny animals that grow up to 1mm long and have eight legs. They were given their name by Italian biologist Lazzaro Spallanzani because it means "slow stepper". These little guys are not going anywhere fast.
Eye of Science/Science Photo Library
They're also known as "moss piglets".
They typically live around water in damp moss or lichens, but can be found almost everywhere on Earth.
Eye of Science/Science Photo Library
They look like tiny manatees.
Tardigrade or manatee? It's uncanny.
Eye of Science/Science Photo Library
They can go into a state of suspended animation if they need to.
The most common way they do this is shriveling up as they reduce their water content to less than 1% what it normally is. They stop metabolism. This would kill most animals, but it only makes tardigrades stronger.
Eye of Science/Science Photo Library
from BuzzFeed - Animals http://ift.tt/TNDyLG
Created by Peter
No comments:
Post a Comment