h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Cor....!

I caught the tail end of a nature dokky last nite, I believe it was called Natures Extreme something or other.

Anyway they had a top ten kind of thing, of the most extreme critters..and the top one was the Water Bear.

What an amazing little being it is!

I learned that it lived in mosses and lichens, you can't see it without a microscope and that it is formed just like an animal - well almost

It can live in extreme temperatures from -300approx to +300.

It can survive in a vacuum, effectively making it able to travel thro space without too much damage.

It can die (suspended animation) for an indeterminate amount of years, and then come back to life when conditions are suitable...

I just had to share - I'd never heard of one, makes you wonder about all sorts of things all over again, about the scale of the universe and life that can be transported thro space.

All those kind of questions of, 'what if we came from somewhere else', 'if so, where'? Are suddenly brought to fore again after looking at these microscopic, seemingly indestructable creatures.

Marvelous stuff...

Here is a little link I found that has some pics and a little more information. Or you could just google 'Water Bear' yourself to see.

http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/mag/indexmag.html?http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/mag/artjun00/mmbearp.html

Vix

I've never heard of them before either

"doesn't need to carry along a knife and fork as it has two in-built knives" What?!

I know, eh?

Very, very

Fascinating!

Ahh yes, that animal is really cool. Probably one of the toughest creatures on the planet. So it's called a water bear in english? They mentioned on one program that one should have managed to wake up when dripped with a bit of water, after hibernating in some dried moss for 120 years!

Wow, that was a fascinating site, Vixen. (Jimmy thought that you were having us on, til we checked the link.)
Come to think of it, I had heard something about them, but not very much... Aren't they wonderful?

I tend to get excited over stuff like this, its not everyones cup o' I know...

It's nice to know that other peeps find this stuff interesting and incredible too..

See, where other than h2g2 could you find people who don't think you are a freak for liking these things. That's what's so great about the place.

yeh..

There's actually a Guide entry on them [A827282]. I think I was the sub-editor for it briefly.

I saw that a fellow researcher friend put the link out for me in another thread...it very good, thank you for sharing too! I sometimes forget to check in here...



*pleased to meet you, by the way* *mental handshakes*

I saw that a fellow researcher friend put the link out for me in another thread...it was very good, thank you for sharing too! I sometimes forget to check in here...



*pleased to meet you, by the way* *mental handshakes*

Where did you see this "dokky" anyway, MV? Was it on PBS or cable? Just wondering. I'd like to see if I can find it. I don't have cable, but I know people who do.

Discovery channel I think.....it could have been channel 13 (PBS?) I shall have a looksee to find it..

Hey I actually know about waterbears! (Without checking any reference book or 'net link) this is what I already know about them: they're the class Tardigrada in the kingdom Animalia. They look like animals 'cause they *are* animals! They're multicellular animals but microscopic in size. They have round bodies looking like little bags of water with short protruding 'legs' and feet with little 'claws'. They're soft-bodied, not segmented, and transparent. They live in wettish places. They can dehydrate completely and survive in that form for almost unlimited periods. They can travel through space in dehydrated form without damage. When they encounter water they rehydrate again and go 'back to life' but actually they weren't completely dead, they just looked that way. They can also survive extremes in temperature and, I think, acids and other hostile chemicals and extreme shocks (such as a blast that might propel them into space!)

OK, that's what I knew about them out of my head. I think I can also draw a vagueish picture of what they look like.

Anyways I will now consult a reference source: my Larousse Encyclopedia of Animal Life!

My encyclopedia only has a tiny little bit about them!

Apparently they're the *phylum*, not *class*, Tardigrada.

The majority live in places that are interfaces between moist and dry ... like the water films surrounding mosses and lichens, places that become periodically dessicated.

They can in dessicated form survive immersion in LIQUID HELIUM!!!, and also ether, 100% alcohol, and other 'noxious substances' (my book doesn't mention acids ...)

Well apparently its body IS segmented, but not its legs. It can apparently have some hard plates and other decorations on its skin.

They seem to be uncertain as to the relationships of water bears to other kinds of animals!

I found it quite surprising that my encyclopedia has such a short section on them ... I thought there ought to be more.

Xanatic, what do they call them in Denmark?

Anyways ... I pity the people who do *not* find this stuff fascinating ...!!!

*Off to read some waterbear links...*

You have quite an incredible store of knowledge up there!

Really amazing, MV! I saw the promo for that doc on Animal Planet, but was at my friend's house, and I don't have cable!

What cool creatures, and what amazing abilities. There have been meteoric and cometary impacts on Mars which have resulted in small meteorites impacting Earth from there. If they can withstand space, then if there is moss or lichen on Mars (and there might be, Mars Pathfinder's rover found some suspicious colored spots it couldn't reach to check out), then there may well be life on Mars -- or FROM Mars! We've been hit hard in the distant past as well -- ask the dinosaurs!

How cool is that?

SC

Yeh, gotta love the tenatious-ness of life..

Hi Pillowcase, haven´t seen you for a while.

Well, I think they are just called "bear animals" in Danish, due to the resemblance. But do they really belong to the class animals? I know they are not single celled, but I would have thought they would be a different class. Along with dust mites and so.