Tardigrades are microscopic animals that can withstand extreme conditions, including the vacuum of space. But since they are so small, it is rare to find fossilized specimens. Still, scientists know they have been around for at least 500 million years. Now a preserved tardigrade has been found in a clump of amber that fell from a tree as sap 16 million years ago in what is now the Dominican Republic. The piece of amber held quite a few creatures, and it took extensive analysis to find the tardigrade.
The extinct tardigrade species has been named Paradoryphoribius chronocaribbeus, part of a completely new genus, yet it resembles present-day tardigrades. Less than a millimeter long, the tardigrade is preserved so well that you can see the tiny claws on the ends of its eight legs -under a microscope. They are the smallest animal known that has legs. Read more about the preserved tardigrade found in Dominican amber at CNN.
(Image credit: Holly Sullivan/Proceedings of the Royal Society B)
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