''Richtersius'' is a monospecific genus of

tardigrade Tardigrades (), known colloquially as water bears or moss piglets, are a phylum of eight-legged segmented micro-animals. They were first described by the German zoologist Johann August Ephraim Goeze in 1773, who called them Kleiner Wasserbär ...

s in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Richtersiidae Richtersiidae is a family of tardigrade Tardigrades (), known colloquially as water bears or moss piglets, are a phylum of eight-legged segmented micro-animals. They were first described by the German zoologist Johann August Ephraim Goeze in ...

; its sole species is ''Richtersius coronifer''. ''R. coronifer'' is one of two species of tardigrade that have been shown to survive and continue reproducing after exposure to

outer space Outer space, commonly shortened to space, is the expanse that exists beyond Earth and its atmosphere and between celestial bodies. Outer space is not completely empty—it is a near-perfect vacuum containing a low density of particles, pred ...

, specifically in the

thermosphere The thermosphere is the layer in the Earth's atmosphere directly above the mesosphere and below the exosphere. Within this layer of the atmosphere, ultraviolet radiation causes photoionization/photodissociation of molecules, creating ions; the ...

at 258–281 km above sea level with ionizing solar and galactic cosmic radiation for 10 days. However, unlike ''

Milnesium tardigradum ''Milnesium tardigradum'' is a cosmopolitan species of tardigrade that can be found in a diverse range of environments. It has also been found in the sea around Antarctica. ''M. tardigradum'' was described by Louis Michel François Doyère in 184 ...

'', ''R. coronifer'' did not survive under these conditions plus UV exposure.

References

External links

Parachaela Animals described in 1903 Articles containing video clips Monotypic animal genera {{astrobiology-stub