Ananya Ghosal, MAKAUT (WB)
A tardigrade is a distinct group that comes under microscopic invertebrates, that is best suited for extreme conditions. The fossil record of a tardigrade is extremely scattered despite their global distribution and evolutionary history in the terrestrial and aquatic environment. The differentiation of tardigrades from other panarthropod lineages was estimated by molecular clocks even before the Cambrian.
This study shows the third fossil reported from Miocene age Dominican amber. The first tardigrade fossil discussed from Cenozoic and the first definite fossil from distinct superfamily Isohypsibioidea is Paradoryphoribius chronocaribbeus gen. et sp. Nov. The preferential preservation of macroinvertebrates is the explanation for the record of patchy tardigrade fossils as amber inclusion that is integrated with the shortage of the fossiliferous amber sediment before the Cretaceous.
History of tardigrades
A tardigrade is a diverse group comprised of microscopic invertebrates which have the potential to live in extreme conditions, they are also called ‘water bears’. It was proved in 2007 trip to space, where the tardigrades are revealed to inferiors ionizing solar radiation and space vacuums, despite all these extreme conditions tardigrades manage to get through and reproduce after they returned to earth. Tardigrades are found worldwide, in all the continents and different environments like freshwater, terrestrial and marine.
Tardigrades have gone through Phanerozoic Great Mass Extinction events. Approx 80 million years ago, the advanced modern tardigrades are known from the cretaceous. The tardigrade fossil record is extremely scattered although their global and evolutionary distribution has a long history. The possibility of tardigrades becoming fossilized is extremely low as their biomineralizing and microscopic size body. The advance of the Royal Society B on October 6th reported a new modern-looking tardigrade fossil that shows a new genus and new species.
The study obtained high-resolution images of essential anatomic characteristics by using confocal laser microscopy which assist phylogenetic analysis to initiate the taxonomic placement of the fossil. The third tardigrade amber fossil that discussed and named in the new fossil Paradoryphoribius chronocaribbeus. Milnesium swolenskyi and Beorn leggi are also fully described and modern-looking tardigrade fossils belong from cretaceous-age amber in North America. The first fossil implanted in Miocene Dominican amber is Paradoryphoribius and the fossil constitute the tardigrade superfamily Isohypsibioidea.
Morphology of tardigrades
The cuticle of tardigrades are composed of chitin, the primary component of the cell wall in fungi and the exoskeleton of the arthropod is the fibrous glucose substance. Chitin helps in visualizing the tardigrade fossil by using confocal microscopy as the chitin is easily excited by lasers and chitin is fluorescent. Confocal laser microscopy is used to observe the fossil created degrees of fluorescence which gives a clear understanding of clear morphology.
By this procedure, Mapalo observed the main characteristics of fossils the foregut of the animal composed of cuticle or the buccal apparatus and the claws. The foregut present n tardigrades affirm to assemble a new genus within the surviving group of tardigrade superfamilies. These unique characteristics are only present in the Paradoryphoribius in the superfamily Isohypsibioidea. The internal morphology of tardigrade is observed by confocal laser microscopy and the characters are present in fossils but extant species.
Also read: Can Extinct Birds Rejuvenate And Come Back To Life?
Reference
- Mapalo, M. A., Robin, N., Boudinot, B. E., Ortega-Hernández, J., & Barden, P. (2021). A tardigrade in Dominican amber. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 288(1960), 20211760. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2021.1760
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