tar·di·grade

(tär′dĭ-grād′)

Any of various slow-moving, microscopic invertebrates of the phylum Tardigrada that have four body segments, eight legs, and a chitinous cuticle, inhabit aquatic or moist terrestrial environments, and can withstand extreme temperatures. Also called water bear.

adj.

1. Of or belonging to the Tardigrada.

2. Slow in action; slow-moving.

[New Latin Tardigrada, phylum name, from neuter pl. of Latin tardigradus, slow-moving : tardus, slow + -gradus, walking, moving (from gradī, to go; see transgress). Adj., sense 2, from Latin tardigradus.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

tardigrade

(ˈtɑːdɪˌɡreɪd)

(Animals) any minute aquatic segmented eight-legged invertebrate of the phylum Tardigrada, related to the arthropods, occurring in soil, ditches, etc. Popular name: water bear

adj

(Animals) of, relating to, or belonging to the Tardigrada

[C17: via Latin tardigradus, from tardus sluggish + gradī to walk]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

tar•di•grade

(ˈtɑr dɪˌgreɪd)

n.

1. any microscopic, chiefly herbivorous invertebrate of the phylum Tardigrada, living in water or on mosses, lichens, etc.

adj.

2. slow in pace or movement.

[1615–25; < Latin tardigradus slow-paced. See tardy, -grade]

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun

tardigrade - an arthropod of the division Tardigrada

arthropod - invertebrate having jointed limbs and a segmented body with an exoskeleton made of chitin

class Tardigrada, Tardigrada - in some classifications considered a separate phylum: microscopic arachnid-like invertebrates living in water or damp moss having 4 pairs of legs and instead of a mouth a pair of stylets or needlelike piercing organs connected with the pharynx

stylet - small needlelike appendage; especially the feeding organ of a tardigrade

Translations

Bärtierchen

tardigrade

Mentioned in

References in periodicals archive

We have also recently begun making similar measurements on a species of tardigrade, Milnesium tardigradum.

The 89th Annual Academy of Science Meeting Tuskegee University Tuskegee, AL February 22-24, 2012

Mopsechiniscus franciscae is a tardigrade, or water bear.

Antarctica's new tardigrade

TARDIGRADE DIVERSITY IN THE MOSS ULOTA CRISPA FROM TREE CANOPIES IN THE GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS NATIONAL PARK--A PRELIMINARY REPORT.

TARDIGRADE DIVERSITY IN THE MOSS ULOTA CRISPA FROM TREE CANOPIES IN THE GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS NATIONAL PARK--A PRELIMINARY REPORT

A special ability called cryptobiosis allows a tardigrade to expel nearly all of the water in its body and pause its metabolism, putting it into a seed-like inactive state that helps the tiny creature endure the extreme temperatures of -272 to 151AdegC and the absence of oxygen or water for as long as 120 years without aging.

Organisms scattered onto surface of moon after spacecraft's crash

Lukasz Kaczmarek, a tardigrade expert and astrobiologist at the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poland, said the animals could have survived the crash landing.

Tiny water bears believed to be living on Moon after surviving spacecraft crash; The millimetre-long creatures can withstand extreme radiations and blazing heat in space

A scanning electron microscope image of the hydrated tardigrade, Ramazzottius varieornatus (AFP Photo/HO)

'Indestructible' tardigrades may be alive on the Moon

Consider the tardigrade, also known as the water bear.

Hacking humanity

Paul Academy and Summit School, "Tardigrade Abundance as a Bioindicator for Water Quality"

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