Definitions
from The Century Dictionary.
- In Illiger's classification (1811), the eighth order of mammals, containing the sloths, with which, however, the sloth-bear (Prochilus) was included.
- Water-bears or bear-animalcules, an order of Arachnida synonymous with Arctisca. (See also
Macrobiotidæ .) The order is sometimes raised to the rank of a class apart fromArachnida . See cut underArctisca .
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun plural (Zoöl.) A tribe of edentates comprising the sloths. They are noted for the slowness of their movements when on the ground. See
sloth , 3. - noun plural (Zoöl.) An order of minute aquatic arachnids; -- called also
bear animalcules ,sloth animalcules , andwater bears .
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- proper noun A taxonomic
phylum within thekingdom Animalia — thetardigrades .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun in some classifications considered a separate phylum: microscopic arachnid-like invertebrates living in water or damp moss having 4 pairs of legs and instead of a mouth a pair of stylets or needlelike piercing organs connected with the pharynx
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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The name Tardigrada means "slow walker" and was given by Italian biologist Spallanzani in 1777.
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This text, for example, lists Tardigrada (water bears) as a class within the subphylum of Arachnida in the phylum Arthropoda - as opposed to the current classification of Tardigrades in their own phylum.
New art frankwu 2007
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I am leaving out tardigrades (Tardigrada) and bdelloid rotifers (Rotifera), because, although some of their species live in mosses, lichens and in the soil and can survive desiccation much better than almost all truly terrestrial animals, they require to be surrounded with relatively large volumes of water to be active.
Archive 2006-05-01 AYDIN 2006
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The order is subdivided into two groups: _Tardigrada_, or sloths, and _Effodientia_ or burrowers.
Natural History of the Mammalia of India and Ceylon Robert Armitage Sterndale 1870
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Brandon Keim, WIRED Science: It’s one small step for Tardigrada, and one giant leap for the animal kingdom: The toughest creature on Earth has survived a trip into space.
Invertebrate Astronauts Make Space History | Disinformation 2008
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