You may know tardigrades by another name, whether it’s water bear or even moss piglets (thanks to an episode of the South Park TV show). The name tardigrade originated from a Spanish translation of “slow stepper.” There are approximately 1,300 known species of water bear within the phylum Tardigrada, which is believed to have originated over 500 million years ago.
Tardigrades are famous for their extreme adaptability and may perhaps be nature’s most durable creature. Water bears have been known to adapt to extreme temperatures and a wide range of environmental conditions including mountains, volcanoes, the Antarctic, and even have survived
