tardigrade
noun [ C ] biology specialized uk/ˈtɑː.dɪ.ɡreɪd/ us/ˈtɑːr.dɪ.ɡreɪd/ (also water bear, /ˈwɔː.tə ˌbeər/ /ˈwɑː.t̬ɚ ˌber/)
缓步类动物，水熊虫
a type of very small creature with eight legs that lives in water
Tardigrades are tiny creatures, about the size of a pencil dot, and look much like caterpillars, with four pairs of legs ending in claws, and five body segments. 水熊虫是一种微小的生物，大约只有一个铅笔点那么大，看起来很像毛毛虫，有四对腿，末端是爪子，身体有五段。
- More examples
- He became fascinated with tiny eight-legged organisms called tardigrades, which can live in moss for more than a century.
- Some of the humblest-seeming animals are also the longest-lived, like the tardigrade, or water bear.
- Being able to withstand desiccation, starvation and extremes of temperature, has contributed towards the success of the tardigrades, which live in habitats from damp moss to flowering plants, sand, freshwater and the ocean.
- Tardigrades have a unique metabolism that allows them to enter a state of suspended animation.