The world's first sketch of a tardigrade, from 1773
Among the Moss Piglets: The First Image of a Tardigrade (1773) — The Public Domain Review
https://publicdomainreview.org/collection/tardigrade/
Tardigrades are tiny animals measuring 50 micrometers to 1.7 millimeters in size, yet they have a physical resilience unimaginable for their tiny bodies. Tardigrades are also known to exhibit cryptobiosis, a state of metabolic inactivity that occurs when they are exposed to harsh environments such as cold and dryness, and can survive extreme temperatures and pressure, levels of radiation that would kill most living organisms, and long periods of desiccation and oxygen deprivation. As a result, about 1,300 species of tardigrades have been found all over the world, from the deep sea to tropical rainforests and Antarctica.
Tardigrades can survive being shot at 825 meters per second - GIGAZINE
According to Lawrence, the first record of tardigrades was published in 1773 by the German pastor, Rev. Johann August Ephraim Gade. Gade became fascinated with the microscope after attending a demonstration and bought one so he could observe the tiny animals himself. It wasn't until the 1660s that microscopy became somewhat popular as a scientific method, and early microscopes had many technical problems, such as impurities in the glass and blurred vision, but they were sufficient for observing the tiny animals.
After taking a sample from stagnant water in 1722, Gase observed the tiny animals attached to aquatic plants under a microscope. The grey creatures he found, with eight tiny legs and three claws, had never been mentioned before, so Gase thought they might be very unusual. The name 'tardigrade' was given to them by an Italian biologist in 1777, but earlier Gase had called the tiny creatures that looked like little bears 'little water bears.'
In 1745, the 18th century Genevan naturalist Charles Bonnet published 'De Insecta', a book describing his findings on insects, and several pages of the German translation of 'De Insecta' were included in the journal by Gethe, which included a sketch of a tardigrade and his observations. Below is Gethe's sketch, and 'Fig. 7' in the center on the right is shown as a sketch of a tardigrade.
In his description, Gaze states, 'They are 'predators' in relation to other insects in their environment, just like tigers and lions in the African desert. The greed of some species of these small creatures is as great as that of bears and hyenas in proportion,' and points out that in the microcosm they are as fearsome as real bears. On the other hand, Gaze writes that their short legs are very unstable and clumsy for supporting the body, and that despite their sharp claws, they did not seem to have any use other than for clinging to aquatic plants.
At the end of his observations, Gaze expressed his amazement at the strangeness of the tardigrades' biology, saying, 'Creator of aquatic life! I marvel at the infinite variety of designs that your wisdom has used to shape all the bodies of animals, birds, fish, insects, and worms in different ways!' Lawrence said, 'Gaze's careful drawing of one tardigrade conveys the mystery of these tiny animals that have fascinated researchers ever since.'
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