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The eight-legged microscopic invertebrates that resemble spongy bears are among the most resilient creatures on Earth, with the ability to survive decades without food, extreme temperatures, and even in the vacuum of space. Fossils of the creatures are extremely rare, with only two found in history – so far.
In a new study released Wednesday, researchers said they found a 16 million year old tardigrade fossil, also known as a water bear or moss piglet, in a piece of amber from the Dominican Republic. There have only been two fossils of these creatures never found before, despite the continued habitation of invertebrates on the planet.
The latest find is the first tardigrade fossil to be recovered from the current Cenozoic era, which began 66 million years ago, and has led to the designation of a new genus and species of tardigrade, Paradoryphoribius chronocaribbeus.
The creature is believed to be the best-represented fossil tardigrade to date. The researchers were able to get a detailed look at the creature, seeing parts of its mouth and needle-shaped claws that are 20 to 30 times thinner than a human hair.
Finding a tardigrade fossil is a unique event in a generation, said Phil Barden, one of the researchers, in a statement released by the New Jersey Institute of Technology.
“What is so remarkable is that the tardigrades are an ancient ubiquitous lineage that has seen everything on Earth from the fall of dinosaurs to the rise of terrestrial colonization of plants. Yet they are like a ghost lineage to them. paleontologists with almost no record fossils, ”he said. “Finding the remains of tardigrade fossils is an exciting time where we can empirically see their progression through Earth’s history.”
There are around 1,300 species of tardigrades that have been discovered, and according to National Geographic, they have been found in various environments on Earth: the deep ocean, sand dunes, and freshwater mosses. Creatures are extremophiles, according to National Geographic, and some species can survive for up to 30 years without food, temperatures ranging from absolute zero above boiling, and even in the vacuum of space.
Finding tardigrades is not an easy task, as they are roughly half a millimeter in size. Barden tweeted on Wednesday that without his co-author Brendon Boudinot, who had spotted him alongside the ants they had analyzed, he “would never have spotted him.”
The discovery was so exciting that it even prompted one of the study’s authors, Marc Mapalo, to write a song to celebrate the moment he received an email from his lead researcher, the co-author of the study Javier Ortega Hernandez, about the news.
“Tardigrade amber fossils, there were only two. … Well now there are three, ”he sings as he plays the keyboard. “Now that you know there are three, there is another mystery. What could this fossil be? Well, look at our paper and you will see.”
Last but not least, Marc is an excellent tardigradologist, but he also has many other talents. Hoping that journals start to encourage song-based media summaries in the near future 🎹🎤😃 pic.twitter.com/p5OFDw7Ze6
– Javier Ortega Hernández (@InvertebratePal) October 6, 2021
Barden said the discovery only “scratched the surface” of the tardigrade’s understanding.
“This study is a reminder that as little as we can get any tardigrade fossils, we also know very little about the living species on our planet today.”
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