Phylum - Tardigrada

Common name: Water Bears

Name derivation: “slow walker”

  • Class: Eutardigrada
  • Class: Heterotardigrada
  • Class: Mesotardigrada

Number of Orders: 5

Number of Families: 33

Number of Genus: 157

Number of known Species: 1,461

Earliest Fossil Record:  Late Cretaceous 100 - 66 mya

Habitat: Terrestrial, Marine, Freshwater

Size Range: 0.1 mm to 1.5 mm

Notes: Based on Catalogue of Life as of July 2024

Onychophora  Arthropoda >