''Hypsibius dujardini sensu lato'' is a
species complex
In biology, a species complex is a group of closely related organisms that are so similar in appearance and other features that the boundaries between them are often unclear. The taxa in the complex may be able to hybridize readily with each oth ...
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 Wasserbà ...
in the class
Eutardigrada. A member of this complex, ''Hypsibius exemplaris'', is widely used for various research projects pertaining to evolutionary biology and astrobiology.
''H. exemplaris'' was differentiated from ''H. dujardini
sensu stricto
''Sensu'' is a Latin word meaning "in the sense of". It is used in a number of fields including biology, geology, linguistics, semiotics, and law. Commonly it refers to how strictly or loosely an expression is used in describing any particular c ...
'' in 2018. Earlier studies refer to this lab species from northwest England as ''H. dujardini''. ''H. dujardini s.s.'' is found in France, and has differences in 18S rRNA sequence and morphological details.
Habitat
The species, ''Hypsibius dujardini'', is a tardigrade that prefers freshwater lakes, rivers, and streams. Because they are considered cosmopolitan, their geographical range is immense. They can be found in regions like the tropics and the poles.
Genome sequencing
The genome of ''Hypsibius exemplaris'' has been sequenced.
''Hypsibius exemplaris'' has a compact genome and a generation time of about two weeks. It can be cultured indefinitely and cryopreserved.
References
External links
Tardigrada NewsletterTardigrades - Pictures and MoviesThe Edinburgh Tardigrade project Tardigrades (English/German)Hypsibius dujardini and the evolution of development
Hypsibiidae
Animals described in 1840
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