Japanese Researcher Discovers A New 'Water Bear' Life Form In His Parking Lot
It's the newest species of Tardigrade to be found, and has exciting prospects for scientists.
A scientist has discovered a new species of tardigrade, or ¡°water bear¡± as it¡¯s colloquially known, in a nondescript apartment complex parking lot in Japan.
This new sample of Macroniotus Shonaicus is the 168th unique species of this microorganism ever discovered in Japan.
Tardigrades are famous for both their adorable looks and their legendary endurance. They¡¯re bizarre little micro-creatures, with eight legs attached to a rotund body, and permanently surprised mouths. More importantly, though, they¡¯re capable of surviving in extreme cold - up to minus 200 degrees Celsius, and also extreme heat - up to 149 degrees Celsius. In fact, scientists have said they¡¯re capable of even living in the harsh vacuum of space - the only such species we know of.
Kazuhara Arakawa, the researcher that made the discovery, says he found micro-animal in a sample of moss around his apartment. ¡°Most tardigrade species were described from mosses and lichens ¡ª thus any cushion of moss seems to be interesting for people working on tardigrades,¡± he told Live Science in an email. ¡°But it was quite surprising to find a new species around my apartment!¡±
Arakawa, who studies the molecular biology of tardigrades at Japan's Keio University, says he routinely checks moss samples around town for the creatures, but his home sample turned out to be very special. For one, it could survive and reproduce in a lab setting, something very rare for these little guys.
When he sequenced its genome, he realised it wasn¡¯t a match for any existing tardigrade samples, so he contacted tardigrade expert ?ukasz Michalczyk of Jagiellonian University in Poland. Together, they reached the conclusion that they had a new species on their hands.
This particular tardigrade ranges in length from 318 micrometres to 743 micrometres. Aside from the regular features expected it has three rows of teeth ringing its mouth. In addition, this species can live on algae, whereas its cousins are carnivores that eat even smaller microorganisms called rotifers.
Even stranger is the shape of this tardigrade¡¯s eggs. Spherical little balls, they come with cup-like protrusions that extend into noodle-like filaments, probably to help the eggs attach to the surface they¡¯re laid on.
But scientists are most excited because this species seems to survive living in a lab environment. That means they can study its sexual reproduction machinery, as well as other behaviours for the first time.
