Where To Find Water Bears

Soft lichen is more likely to have tardigrades than hard crusty lichen.

Where to find water bears.

Just how tough are they. These eight legged invertebrates are only 0 1 1mm long yet they are certainly the world s toughest animals. You may hear that the water bears official name. The name water bear comes from the way they walk reminiscent of a bear s gait the name tardigradum means slow walker and was given by lazzaro spallanzani in 1777.

They are also known as tardigrades which means slow walker and the name water bear comes from the bear like way they walk. Aside from hibernation a lot more on that later the similarity pretty much ends there. In damp moss on flowering plants in sand in fresh water and in the sea. They can most easily be found living in a film of water on lichens and mosses as well as in sand dunes soil sediments and leaf litter.

How can they do that. Water bears are microscopic animals found in water all over the world a lot more on that later. Water bear a scanning electron micrograph of a tardigrade or water bear. Tardigrades are the toughest animal on the earth.

In adapting to this wide range of external conditions a large number of genera and species have evolved. Tardigrades also called water bears or moss piglets refer to over 1 150 species of microscopic aquatic animals that can be found in moss ferns lichens soil beaches dunes and other damp habitats all over the planet and you can find one in this excellent science experiment outdoor expedition. Water bears can survive in hot springs in the deep ocean under solid layers of ice and even after exposure to deadly irradiation. Johann august ephraim goeze originally named the tardigrade kleiner wasserbär meaning little water bear in german today they are often referred to in german as bärtierchen or little bear animal.

Tardigrades also known as water bears or space bears are incredible members of the microcosmos that can be found just about anywhere in the world. You can even find water bears in the powdery lichen that grows on rocks and brick walls. They can survive a wide range of temperatures. They live in a variety of habitats worldwide.