Tardigrades

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Tardigrades are eight-legged micro-animals that are often referred to as water bears. Another nickname for them is moss piglets. The hardy creatures have some amazing abilities including the ability to recover from desiccation and other highly stressful environments. Tardigrades are common on Earth. There are about 1200 taridgrade species according to the World Tardigrada Database.

Here is the coverage of tardigrades at Science, Space & Robots:

Antarctic Tardigrades Revived After Being Frozen for Over 30 Years
An Antarctic tardigrade was revived by scientists after being frozen for over 30 years. The microscopic creatures are also known as water bears. (February 16, 2016)

New Species of Tardigrade Discovered on Allen Island off Maine
A research team from Unity College has discovered a new species of tardigrade on Allen Island. (October 8, 2015)

Biologist Bob Goldstein Talks Tardigrades
Biologist Bob Goldstein talks about the amazing tardigrades in this video from Science Friday. (March 23, 2013)