Water Bear: "I am tiny yet tough"

Halo Sobat OSC! A lot of unique animals are starting to be discovered, one of them is water bears or tardigrades. Have you ever heard that name? 

 

Tardigrade commonly called “water bear” is one of the ancient animals that survived until now. According to National Geographic, Tardigrades have been on earth for about 600 million years. Awesome! Are you curious why Tardigrades are tiny yet tough? :p So, let's jump on the story below!

What is a Tardigrade?

Tardigrades are microscopic eight-legged animals. There are around 1300 species of tardigrades are found. As the name implies, these animals will live in a place where there’s liquid water. But if we flashback to the fact that these animals have been on earth for about 600 million years, what makes these animals could survive?

Tiny and Tough

As the question above, the information from Britannica, Tardigrades have mostly size about 0.04 inches or less. This animal can survive the extreme environments such as still alive after 30 years without food or water or in the altitudes of over 19,600 feet of the Himalayan mountain; they have been found in the temperature minus 328 degrees Fahrenheit (-200 degrees Celcius) and at high temperatures more than 300 degrees Fahrenheit; even, the place which has up to six times pressure of the deepest part of the ocean. Not only that but the Tardigrades are also found in space. They may adapt to several environmental conditions because they have a process known as cryptobiosis (death-like state).

Lifespan: Mating and Reproduction

Tardigrades have unusual mating habits. It’s depending on the species in which the animals may reproduce asexually or sexually. For the egg layers, females produce up to 30 eggs and the eggs may be fertilized either inside (in the female’s shed cuticle after the male ejaculates the sperm) or while attached to sand or substrate. In an asexual way, other tardigrade species are parthenogenesis (embryo develops without external fertilization). The eggs will take around 40 days to hatch or about 90 days if they have been in a desiccated state.

 

That’s all about the tough Tardigrades, what would you call this animal? “Kecil-Kecil Cabe Rawit?” 

   

Source:

https://www.livescience.com/57985-tardigrade-facts.html

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/invertebrates/facts/tardigrades-water-bears#:~:text=Tardigrades%20have%20been%20on%20earth,by%20about%20400%20million%20years.&text=They%20were%20first%20described%20in,or%20%E2%80%9Clittle%20water%20bear.%22 

https://www.britannica.com/animal/tardigrade 

https://www.livescience.com/57985-tardigrade-facts.html 

https://serc.carleton.edu/microbelife/topics/tardigrade/index.html#:~:text=Tardigrades%20have%20adapted%20to%20environmental,by%20a%20cessation%20of%20metabolism.