Tardigrades

micro-animals · tough survivors · water bears

Also called water bears. Tardigrades got this nickname because they look a bit like miniature bears when you see them under a microscope. German scientist Johann August Ephrarim Goeze first described them in 1773 and called them Kleiner Wasserbär, which means 'little water bear' in German.

Slow walkers. Their scientific name, Tardigrada, comes from Latin words meaning 'slow walkers' because they move very slowly on their eight stubby legs. This name was given to them in 1776 by Italian biologist Lazzaro Spallanzani.

Incredibly tiny. Tardigrades are so small that you need a microscope to see them properly. They are much smaller than a grain of sand and belong to their own special group called a phylum.

Segmented bodies. Tardigrades have bodies made up of segments, kind of like how a worm's body is divided into sections. This segmented structure helps them move and bend in different directions.