Cut-paper water bear, a plump segmented body on stubby legs

The character cabinet

Water bears

Plants and animalsliving animal

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What they are

Tiny, plump animals alive today, also called tardigrades. Their throats are lined with needle-like teeth, and so was Hallucigenia's. Teeth like these probably go back to the common ancestor of every animal that sheds its skin, from insects and crabs to the roundworms in garden soil.

On screen

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