A scientist filmed rare 30-minute footage of a trio of tardigrades. It has been reported business insider.
Tardigrades are microscopic incredibly stubborn creatures. These aquatic invertebrates can withstand high levels of radiation, deep sea pressure, and even outer space.
Scientist James Weiss, author of the “Journey to the Microcosmos” YouTube channel, observed the same tardigrades for several weeks. He managed to videotape the animals’ group mating for 30 minutes.
While observing tardigrades, Weiss noticed two smaller tardigrades extending into the lower belly of the larger tardigrade. The scientist noticed that the larger tardigrade looked like it was laying unfertilized eggs. Apparently, the two small tardigrades were males trying to fertilize the eggs.
The female then defecated, which Weiss speculated could be a way to attract males. To test the hypothesis, the scientist separated several mating pairs by gently separating them with cat hair. In any case, the males turned to females in just a few minutes.
“Everything in the water depends on chemical signals, so males need to gather some information to find females,” Weiss said.
After about 30 minutes, one of the males left and the rest spent another hour with the female.
The scientist noted that not all tardigrades need sex to reproduce: some species include only females that reproduce asexually through parthenogenesis.