Some species are entirely carnivorous! Tardigrades are likely related to Arthropoda (which includes insects, spiders, and crustaceans) and Onychophora (velvet worms), and are often referred to as a "lesser known taxa" of invertebrates. They are prey to amoebas, nematodes, and other tardigrades. Tardigrades reproduce via asexual ( parthenogenesis) or sexual reproduction and feed on the fluids of plant cells, animal cells, and bacteria. They have four pairs of legs, each of which ends in four to eight claws. Tardigrades are short (0.05mm - 1.2mm in body length), plump, bilaterally symmetrical, segmented organisms. Goeze in 1773 and given the name Tardigrada, meaning "slow stepper," three years later by the Italian biologist Lazzaro Spallanzani. They were first described by the German pastor J.A.E. Tardigrades (Tardigrada), also known as water bears or moss piglets, are a phylum of small invertebrates. Image taken by Sarah Bordenstein and David Patterson provided courtesy of microscope. This image features Hypsibius, a genus of Tardigrada.
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