The protozoan commonly known as the “water bear” is an extremophile that has intrigued many in the scientific community. The Tardigrade is an invertebrate that has eight legs and comes in many shapes and sizes. This group has many adaptations such as cryptobiosis that allows it to survive in extreme environments. The Tardigrade can be found from land, water, sulfur springs and over 25 species found in the frozen tundra of Antarctica (Miller et al, 2001). To understand these creatures, this article will summarize the taxonomy, reproduction, food, and protective genetics of Tardigrades. The first section of this article will look at how these creatures are divided taxonomically. The “water bear” is a common name for a group of just over 100 genera of protozoa grouped under the Phylum Tardigrada and is a relative of the Phylum Arthropoda. The phylum Tardigrada contains over 1000 species and is grouped into three classes. There are two main classes: Heterotarigrada and Eutardigrada. The last is Mesotardigrada and contains only one species, which was discovered in a sulfur spring in Japan in 1937, and has not been seen since. “Water bears” are, like most species, separated into groups based on characteristics and, more recently, molecular genetic methods. Heterotarigrada are known primarily for their tuft-like hairs on their appendages and hard, flattened scales. Eutardigrada are known as “naked tardigrades” because they lack hard scales or have several separate plates. Tardigrades are then further divided into orders by comparing the groups for the appearance of the cuticle, feeding tube, claws, and other distinguishing features (Michalczyk, 2014). The tardigrade, due to the possibility of its habitat constantly changing, ... halfway through the paper ... is initially produced through a biochemical pathway that uses lipids and glyoxylates them. Trehalose allows the water content of cells to be reduced to less than 2%. Trehalose is found in lower plants and protozoa and is comparable to sucrose in higher organisms. The most recent evidence shows that trehalose molecules interact with the cell's macromolecules and membranes and stabilize them during lean periods. Experiments have shown that cell membranes dried with trehalose, once rehydrated, resume normal functions. This is contrary to those without trehalose where biological functionality is lost. It is also believed that trehalose could be used in place of bulk water. These protective qualities allow resuscitation of tardigrades many years after desiccation. In one case, tardigrades were revived by a moss sample that was more than 120 years old. (Crowe, 2014)