[Title fragment 1.1] [Title fragment 1.2] [Title fragment 1.3]
[Title fragment 2.1] [Title fragment 2.2] [Title fragment 2.3]
[Title fragment 3.1] [Title fragment 3.2] [Title fragment 3.3]



A rock wall (IV)

As most of us are microscopy amateurs - not professionals - we tend to show off our splendid activities mostly by means of photomicrographs and videos. Those fiddly microscope light adjustments have become financially available to a wider public since about 50 years. Moreover the typical amateur has plenty of time to concentrate primarily on the microscope itself whereas the professional needs genetic, DNA etc. refinements in order to be accepted by the colleagues.

But also the professionals, tv productions and more serious educational institutions (compared to the tv) need good quality tardigrade photographs from time to time. It is easily understandable that in those cases the larger and the less pigmented Milnesium and Macrobiotus tardigrades have to be preferred, for the sake of simplicity and working time economy. Scientist Ferdinand Richters stated about a century ago that Milnesium tardigrades were actually anatomy "glass houses". Furthermore some of the tiny tardigrade species tend to be overlooked when screening for tardigrades in a petri dish at low magnifications. Photographically speaking the tiny species are a "close-to nothing" problem:


[ Small tardigrade from the Austrian rock wall ]

Small Echiniscus tardigrade from the Austrian rock wall. Red eyes.
Body length ca. 0.1 mm.

But nevertheless we are able to see the characteristic body curvature, typical red Echiniscus eyes (only a few Echiniscus species have black eyes), signs of the body organization in form of segments, and a stomach-intestine region. But when keeping in mind that as a rule tardigrades should normally have eight legs, it is fairly disappointing to note that there might be not a single of those eight legs actually visible on our photograps. So we work on and on and are happy when we get a photograph with one or even two visible legs in th end:


[ Small Echiniscus tardigrade from the Austrian rock wall ]

Small Echiniscus tardigrade from the Austrian rock wall. Once more: red eyes. Fine stylet springs on the left and right hand side of the mouth tube are barely visible. Body length ca. 0.1 mm.

Without the classical "bio science murder" (which we tend to avoid) it is really difficult to perceive more anatomical detail. Sometimes we might find out that the eyes are black. In many cases only the front end appendices "hairs" etc. are present, no protusions from the back side at all. We think that these are really small and certainly not worth a "micro murder" just in order to see a little bit more detail. So, please just enjoy our following live views of living tardigrades - put back onto their well-aerated moss cushion after microscopy.


[ Small Echiniscus tardigrade from the Austrian rock wall ]

Small Echiniscus tardigrade from the Austrian rock wall. Body length ca. 0.1 mm.


[ Small Echiniscus tardigrade from the Austrian rock wall ]

Small Echiniscus tardigrade from the Austrian rock wall. Body length ca. 0.1 mm.


[ Small Echiniscus tardigrade from the Austrian rock wall ]

Small Echiniscus tardigrade from the Austrian rock wall. Body length ca. 0.1 mm.


[ Small Echiniscus tardigrade from the Austrian rock wall ]

Small Echiniscus tardigrade from the Austrian rock wall. Body length ca. 0.1 mm.


[ Small Echiniscus tardigrade from the Austrian rock wall ]

Small Echiniscus tardigrade from the Austrian rock wall. Body length ca. 0.1 mm.


We would like to wish you a nice Christmas time and a Happy New Year! Just imagine you were a tardigrade - perfectly free of Christmas shopping duties!




© Text, images and video clips by  Martin Mach  (webmaster@baertierchen.de).
Water Bear web base is a licensed and revised version of the German language monthly magazine  Bärtierchen-Journal . Style and grammar amendments by native speakers are warmly welcomed.

Main Page