I havent got any photos, but there is a video I have uploaded.
This is narated by yours truly, with a cold, so sorry if I sound sniffly.
a few notes:
- sorry about the focus, I only had a 2 inch veiwer window
- I ask if you can see the eyes, if you can, you are haulucinating, after I took this video it held still for a bit and I got a good look at its head... This species is blind (or has red eyespots that arent visible because of its colour, or it could be that it has no main eyes, but some tardigrade species have 2 "phantom" eyes that are very small and allmost invisible)
here is the link (28 MB, 2 movies, RAR file): http://www.megaupload.com/?d=KZBNJOHW
Battle-scarred tardigrade:
This i saw this morning (boxing day).
It is another new species that I havent seen before, and when I first saw it I knew something was weird about it. closer examination showed that this water piglet has scars, missing bits, and generaly is battered about a bit.
The circled area in this pic is the most obvious defect, a triangular chunk missing from its snout.
You can see the stylets here (the 2 curved things either side of the tube leading to its stomach, these go forward and puncture a cell while the tube is extended and sucks the innards out. the method of sucking is done by the oval muscle just below the stylets around the food tube (these all have real names, im just forgetting them right now)
You can also see just general bumpyness and some weird lines on its body.
This photo shows the full body surfece, you can see a little more than halfway down its length it has 2 lines running across its body, i belive these are scars.
the close up on its head on the left is showing the eyes in detail, to me it seems that the right eye is out of place compared to the left, judgeing by the stylets facing allmsot exactly streight up, the eyes are not level.
well there you go, 2 tardigrades in 2 days, both new species, I love christmas
(but not nearly as much as I love Tardigrades)
)
