Tardigrade+waterbear+tun+(Echiniscus+testudo)

= **The Tardigrade waterbear tun (Echiniscus testudo)** =

= The picture at the bottom is a Water bear. Using a coloured scanning electron micrograph (SEM) of a water bear or Echiniscus testudo, we can see it in its cryptobiotic tun, or barrel state. The water bear is a tiny invertebrate that lives in coastal waters and freshwater habitats, as well as semi-aquatic terrestrial habitats like damp moss. It requires water to obtain oxygen by gas exchange. The tun state is a response to a period of dessication, or a period when water is removed or a dry state. It contracts and extrudes a wax covering as its metabolism drops to near-zero. When you add water this species can live again. This tardigrade feeds on plant and animal cells. It is found throughout the world, from the tropics to the cold polar waters. The Echiniscus testudo is magnified to 455x at 6x7cm size. =

Family- Echiniscidae
== **//Genus-// **Echiniscus ==

**//Species-// **** testudo **
= =

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