These tiny water bears, called Tardigrades (meaning "slow stepper"), are water-dwelling, eight-legged, segmented micro-animals. They have been sighted from mountaintops to the deep sea, from tropical rain forests to the Antarctic.

Tardigrades are notable for being perhaps the most durable of known organisms; they are able to survive extreme conditions that would be rapidly fatal to nearly all other known life forms. They can withstand temperature ranges from 1 K (−458 °F; −272 °C) to about 420 K (300 °F; 150 °C), pressures about six times greater than those found in the deepest ocean trenches, ionizing radiation at doses hundreds of times higher than the lethal dose for a human, and the vacuum of outer space. They can go without foo ...

The long-lasting search and debate around the size and identity of the world's smallest free-living insect seems to have now ended with the precise measurement and second record of the featherwing beetle species (Scydosella musawasensis). Described in 1999, representatives of this minute beetle have recently been retrieved once again from fungus in Colombia. The smallest individual measured the astounding 0.325 mm. ...

This blackpoll warbler (Setophaga striata), weighing no more than 12 grams can migrate over the Atlantic Ocean from New England and eastern Canada to the Caribbean islands - a 2500 kilometer flight - nonstop! These finding were discovered after researchers tagged these little birds with miniature geolocators on their backs. They concluded that no other "bird this size migrates for this long in one go... it is truly one of the most amazing migratory feats ever recorded." ...

Whenever anyone mentions the word possum, I immediately recall the Simpsons episode where Homer conducts the monorail.


However, unlike the possums found in Homer's closet, the animal you see right above is a western pygmy possum, native to Australia. It might look absolutely tiny, but it's actually one of the largest species of pygmy possum in the world. Another interesting fact is that like all pygmy possums, the western pygmy possum is great at entering mini hibernating periods called torpor.

Source: http://www.australiangeographic.com.au/blogs/creatura-blog/2014/09/western-pygmy-possum-burramyidae/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&utm_campaign=soc.fb.140925.pygmypossum ...

These beautiful birds are called purple-crowned fairy wrens, endemic to northern Australia. The picture was taken by ornithologists (bird banders) studying the birds as part of population monitoring in Australia. The way they are holding them is called "photographer's grip" which gently secures the legs while keeping the rest of the bird free. Handling time is generally very short.

Mr. Peebles from Pekin, Illinois, USA was claimed as the world's smallest cat. Mr. Peebles is two years old cat weighing just three pounds and measuring 6.1 inches in height. This anomaly is caused by a genetic disorder.