Thread by @SeaSpongeCake, For the final day of #InverteFest I'm going to do a thread [...]

For the final day of #InverteFest I& #39;m going to do a thread celebrating tardigrades

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🙂" title="Leicht lächelndes Gesicht" aria-label="Emoji: Leicht lächelndes Gesicht">

These tiny animals are also known as "water bears" or "moss piglets". Here& #39;s one on the tip of a moss leaf

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🌿" title="Kräuter" aria-label="Emoji: Kräuter">

#Tardigrade #WaterBear #TardigradeTuesday 1/n

Tardigrade species vary in size and colour, and can be identified by a number of features such as their claws, egg details, and their feeding apparatus.

These are a few of my favourite tardigrades

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="😊" title="Lächelndes Gesicht mit lächelnden Augen" aria-label="Emoji: Lächelndes Gesicht mit lächelnden Augen">

2/n

A very interesting group are the Heterotardigrades, which have spines, thorns & armour plates. They& #39;re usually orange or red in colour, with a pointed bear-like face

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🐻" title="Bärengesicht" aria-label="Emoji: Bärengesicht">

I find them most often in moss gathered from trees. They& #39;re extremely small and slow!

3/n #InverteFest

A very interesting group are the Heterotardigrades, which have spines, thorns & armour plates. They& #39;re usually orange or red in colour, with a pointed bear-like face https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable=

I find them most often in moss gathered from trees. They& #39;re extremely small and slow!3/n #InverteFest" title="A very interesting group are the Heterotardigrades, which have spines, thorns & armour plates. They& #39;re usually orange or red in colour, with a pointed bear-like face https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🐻" title="Bärengesicht" aria-label="Emoji: Bärengesicht">I find them most often in moss gathered from trees. They& #39;re extremely small and slow!3/n #InverteFest" class="img-responsive" style="max-width:100%;"/>

The name tardigrade means "slow-stepping".

They often appear quite clumsy as they move around under a microscope

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="😄" title="Lächelndes Gesicht mit geöffnetem Mund und lächelnden Augen" aria-label="Emoji: Lächelndes Gesicht mit geöffnetem Mund und lächelnden Augen"> which is part of the reason I love them.

Here& #39;s one bumping into a rock.

4/n #InverteFest #Tardigrade

Tardigrades feed on fluids - often from plant cells, but they can also eat other micro organisms!

This sometimes doesn& #39;t end well....

5/n #InverteFest #Tardigrade

In this video I discuss a sad, messy case of #tardigrade death by worm

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="😞" title="Enttäuschtes Gesicht" aria-label="Emoji: Enttäuschtes Gesicht">

6/n #InverteFest https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4inIt7EO-4I">https://m.youtube.com/watch...

But after tardigrades have eaten, they need to excrete their waste.

Here are three different tardigrade poop moments!

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="😂" title="Gesicht mit Freudentränen" aria-label="Emoji: Gesicht mit Freudentränen">
(I was actually pretty excited to film these)

7/n #InverteFest #Tardigrade #WaterBear

One of the most interesting #tardigrade tricks is going dormant when conditions aren& #39;t suitable.

This is known as the "tun" state

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🙂" title="Leicht lächelndes Gesicht" aria-label="Emoji: Leicht lächelndes Gesicht">

In the video below, the tardi was dried out & in tun state, but it became active when I added water again

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="💧" title="Tröpfchen" aria-label="Emoji: Tröpfchen">

8/n #InverteFest

In many #tardigrade species the females will lay their eggs when they moult, leaving the eggs to develop inside the shed skin

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="😮" title="Gesicht mit offenem Mund" aria-label="Emoji: Gesicht mit offenem Mund">

I absolutely love seeing this

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9/n #InverteFest

Here are before & after photos of tardigrade eggs, with a video of one of the babies!

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="😌" title="Erleichtertes Gesicht" aria-label="Emoji: Erleichtertes Gesicht">

10/n #InverteFest #Tardigrade #WaterBear #Baby

Tardigrades live everywhere - in thin water films on moss and lichen, in puddles, rivers, and the ocean.

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🌊" title="Wasserwelle" aria-label="Emoji: Wasserwelle">

I haven& #39;t yet found a marine tardigrade, but here& #39;s a very beautiful example from @rmartinledo!

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🤩" title="Vom Star geblendet" aria-label="Emoji: Vom Star geblendet">

They have such incredible feet!

https://twitter.com/rmartinledo/status/1272894019127951363?s=20

11/n">https://twitter.com/rmartinle...

https://twitter.com/rmartinledo/status/1272894019127951363?s=20

And finally, I’ll wrap up this thread with a short video about #tardigrade fossils

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🔬" title="Mikroskop" aria-label="Emoji: Mikroskop">

They’ve been around a long time!

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="⏳" title="Sanduhr mit fließendem Sand" aria-label="Emoji: Sanduhr mit fließendem Sand">

I hope you’ve enjoyed celebrating these lovely little animals with me

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12/12 #InverteFest #WaterBear #Fossil https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=poLHx1rtlqA">https://m.youtube.com/watch...

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