Have you seen tardigrades walk? Scientists decode why they trot like insects - The Indian Express

A recent study has found that their gait resembles that of insects that are much bigger than the tardigrade, and have skeletal structures that are remarkably different.

In order to further understand this, the study had examined the walk of Hypsibius exemplaris, a species of tardigrades, on two different substrates made of polyacrylamide gel through a light microscope under different environments.

It was observed that the way in which a tardigrade coordinates its leg movements is very similar to that of insects like stick bugs (Carausius morosus).

Neither the tardigrade nor do insects show distinct gaits, but instead, show a smooth continuous transition across different speeds?

A good example of a distinct, discrete gait for different speeds would be that of a horse: its ‘walk’ is distinct from a ‘trot’, which is again distinct from a ‘gallop’.

One of the questions that the study engages with is why a soft, small animal like the tardigrade would need legs – and walk like insects – in the first place.

While most worms (the study cites the example of the velvet worm) have the VNC remarkably different from that of arthropods, tardigrades, on the other hand, have a VNC ‘strikingly similar’ to that of insects.

The second theory is that the walking styles of tardigrades and arthropods (insects) are an example of convergent, but independent, evolution whereby two species evolve to develop similar physical characteristics.