Echiniscis (genus)
There are over 100 species in this genus. They are very difficult to tell apart.
Water Bears are tiny
animals you need a microscope to see. They live in
mosses,
lichens,
and liverworts. A few species live on plants in fresh
water. Water Bears have eight
legs with four claws on each. They have short, stout bodies
in the shape of a cylinder. The mouths of Water Bears
have sharp pointy objects, called stylets. They use their
stylets to cut into moss leaves or algae,
their main foods. Then they suck the juices from the
plant. Water Bears sometimes eat
tiny animals called nematodes
and rotifers that also live in moss. Water Bears have
developed an interesting way to survive if the moss they
live in dries up. It is called an "antibiotic state." Since
they need moisture to live, if a moss dries up, the Water
Bear becomes inactive, almost like a hibernation.
It mostly dries up also. Then, when the moss becomes wet
again, so does the Water Bear. It revives, and goes on with
its life. Sometimes, Water Bears
can be in an antiobiotic state for several years.
