Phylum - Tardigrada
Common name: Water Bears
Name derivation: “slow walker”
- Class: Eutardigrada
- Class: Heterotardigrada
- Class: Mesotardigrada
Order Count: 5
Family Count: 33
Genus Count: 157
Species Count: 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 March 2025