(Source: exitnetwork, via salmonderio)
16.05.13
Water Bears - Nature’s Greatest Survivors
Tardigrades (known as water bears or moss piglets) are some of the most interesting animals in the world. The amazing thing about these tiny, 1mm creatures is just how resilient they are to about everything. You can put them in space, in hot sea vents, freeze them, boil them, dry them, expose them to open space & radiation - and after 200 years they’ll still be alive.
These small, segmented animals were discovered by Johann August Ephraim Goeze, an aquatic zoologist, in 1773. Over 900 species of water bears have been found everywhere around the world - from the Himalayan mountains (at elevations of over 6000 meters) to deep ocean areas (4000 meters below sea level). They are most often discovered on mosses, lichens, and various types of sediments.
16.05.13
