Water Bear Bärtierchen Tardigrada

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Tardigrades, also known as water bears and moss piglets, are tiny, eight-legged, segmented creatures that live in water. They were first discovered by Johann August Ephraim Goeze, a German pastor, back in 1773. Three years later, the Italian biologist Lazzaro Spallanzani gave them their name, Tardigrada, which means "slow stepper." These incredible animals have been spotted everywhere from mountaintops to the deepest parts of the ocean, and from tropical rain forests to Antarctica. Tardigrades are famous for being incredibly resilient; they can survive conditions that would be deadly to almost every other living thing. They can withstand temperatures ranging from just above absolute zero to as hot as 420 K (300°F), pressures that are six times greater than what's found in the deepest ocean trenches, and even ionizing radiation that's hundreds of times more intense than what's lethal to humans. They can also survive in space with no air around them. What's amazing is that these tiny animals can go without food or water for over 10 years, drying out until they're just 3% water, only to come back to life and start eating, drinking, and reproducing again. Despite their incredible abilities, Tardigrades aren't considered extremophiles because they don't thrive in extreme environments; instead, the longer they're exposed to these conditions, the more likely they are to die.