Hats off to the Tardigrades

[peter]

Just a quick nod of appreciation to the Tardigrades [aka waterbears or moss piglets], said to be the worlds oldest surviving species clocking in at an amazing 530 million years.

According to Neil de Grasse Tyson [astrophysicist presenter of 'Cosmos; a Space Time Oddesy] if a visiting alien came to earth he would probably describe this planet as the planet of the Tardigrades to his bosses back home. The little blighters are classified as 'extremophiles' meaning they can survive almost anywhere from deep space, to boiling geothermal pools, to encased in blocks of ice. They can go ten years without food and dehydrate down to 3% water content then rehydrate and continue breeding as though nothing happened. They have been tough enough to survive the last five mass-extinction events and show no sign of slowing down as yet. There are around 1100 currently identified species and no doubt many more remain to be described. If you want to find one to look at it shouldn't be too difficult; they are found ubiquitously from the tops of mountains to the bottom of the ocean. Hail to the Tardigrades! We salute you!

[Cord Hurn]

Scary little critters; make me glad I'm much bigger! But yes, hats off to these resilient animals, for sure!

[peter]

Thanks for the picture Cord: I'd forgotten this post but yes, my respect remains!