Posted on 02/28/2018 5:28:03 PM PST by LibWhacker
A newfound species of tardigrade, or "water bear," with tendril-festooned eggs has been discovered in the parking lot of an apartment building in Japan.
The newfound tardigrade, Macrobiotus shonaicus, is the 168th species of this sturdy micro-animal ever discovered in Japan. Tardigrades are famous for their toughness: They can survive in extreme cold (down to minus 328 degrees Fahrenheit, or minus 200 Celsius), extreme heat (more than 300 degrees F, or 149 degrees C), and even the unrelenting radiation and vacuum of space, as one 2008 study reported.
They're bizarre and adorable at the same time, with eight legs on a rotund little body (they're usually far less than a millimeter in length) and circular mouths that make them look perpetually surprised.
Kazuharu Arakawa, a researcher who studies the molecular biology of tardigrades at Japan's Keio University, discovered the newfound species in a small sample of moss. He'd scraped the moss from the parking lot of his apartment in Tsuruoka City along the Sea of Japan.
(Excerpt) Read more at livescience.com ...
*ping*
SuperSoldiers coming up.... splice some of THAT dna in.
Sheeeesh..looks like sumtin that crawl
out of Hilda’s shoe...
"It is an ideal model to study the sexual-reproduction machinery and behaviors of tardigrades," he said. "We are actually already submitting another paper describing their mating behaviors."
Nothing like getting excited about observing tardigrade sex.
Wow, great low maintainance pet! If I could only see it without magnifying glass!
Sea-Monkeys!!!!
What’s that, a tardigrade in a Tardis? They look much larger in there.
It's a key plot device from Star Trek: Discovery ...
Wow, I hope it didn’t get out (but I bet it did!).
8>)
I wonder what bizarre environment
these little buggers adapted to.
Alas! I am allergic to shrimp!
Thanks! And a bowl of V8 to you too!
How did he know where to look?
I wonder why the article has no pictures of the actual find.
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