Batillipes chandrayaani

• Context (TH): A New tardigrade species was discovered on the southeast coast of Tamil Nadu.

• It is the third marine tardigrade species described from Indian waters and second from the East Coast.
• It is named Batillipes Chandrayaani after the Chandrayaan-3 mission.
• Similar in size to other tardigrades, it grows to a length of 0.15 millimetres and 0.04 millimetres in width.
• It has a trapezoid-shaped head and four pairs of legs with sharp-tipped sensory spines.
• Both sexes are similar in terms of morphology and size.
• Batillipes chandrayaani is also the 39th species described under the genus Batillipes.
• Earlier tardigrade species from the southwest coast (Stygarctus keralensis) in 2021 and another from the southeast coast (Batillipes kalami) in 2023 were also discovered.

Tardigrade

• Tardigrades are microscopic multicellular organisms commonly known as ‘water bears,’ although they are not related to actual bears.

Credits: The Guardian

• Marine tardigrades account for 17% of all known tardigrade species and are found in all the oceans.
• These are among the hardiest animals, enduring mass extinctions with great survival skills.
• They can survive in extreme physiochemical conditions with the process of cryptobiosis.

Cryptobiosis is a state of extreme inactivity in response to adverse environmental conditions. In the cryptobiotic state, all metabolic procedures stop, preventing reproduction, development, and repair. For example, they turn the cytoplasmic fluid of cells into a glass-like structure to survive dehydration.