Mold Pig

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It was assigned to a distinct genus and family (Sialomorphidae) and seems to belong to a new phylum. Sialomorpha dominicana is somewhat similar to mites and tardigrades. It grew by molting its exoskeleton and is around 100 µm long. It most likely consumed small invertebrates and fungus, such as mold, as an omnivore. These fossils' anatomical structures and developmental patterns show a period of time when particular animal kinds started to exhibit particular features. Unlike tardigrades and mites, they lack claws on the tips of their legs.

The mold pigs shared warm, moist surroundings with pseudoscorpions, nematodes, fungi and protozoa.

Although tardigrades are not immortal, their strong adaptation—cryptobisis—allows them to endure harsh environments for decades on end. Tardigrades use a mechanism known as cryptobiosis to halt their metabolism in order to withstand environmental stress. Using natural and manufactured forms of tardigrade proteins, Thomas Boothby, an assistant professor of molecular biology, and colleagues have demonstrated that a significant medication used to treat hemophilia and other disorders may be stabilized without refrigeration.

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Numerous water organisms eat nematodes, tardigrades, bacteria, algae, mites, and collembolans, among other species. Tardigrades occupy newly forming ecosystems, acting as pioneer species. This movement draws predators as well as other invertebrates to occupy that area.

While most tardigrades are herbivorous, not all of them are, and they will eat you if you are smaller than they are and you are within reach of their claws.

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Recently, he and his colleague Diane Nelson of East Tennessee State University came upon several hundred mold pig fossils coated in amber from the Dominican Republic. The specimens date back to the mid-Tertiary period, about 30 million years ago, and would have shared their habitat with pseudoscorpions, nematodes, protozoa, and fungi, the authors said.

• Movement Pattern: Random

• Individual Type: Solo

• Population Trend: Stable

• Population: ???

• Locomotion: Amphibious

• Habitat: Montane Grasslands and Shrublands; Temperate Coniferous Forests; Temperate Broadleaf and Mixed Forests; Temperate Deciduous Forests, Temperate Grasslands, Savannas, and Shrublands; Subtropical Coniferous Forests; Subtropical Moist Broadleaf Forests; Subtropical Dry Broadleaf Forests; Subtropical Grasslands, Savannas, and Shrublands; Salt Flats; Stone Forest; Tropical Coniferous Forests; Tropical Moist Broadleaf Forests; Tropical Dry Broadleaf Forests; Tropical Grasslands; Tropical Savannas and Shrublands; Mediterranean Forests, Woodlands, and Scrub; Mushroom Forests; Mushroom Fields; Deserts and Xeric Shrublands; Badlands; Flooded Grasslands and Savannas; Swamp; Bayous/Billabongs; Riparian; Wetland; Mangrove Forest; Cold Bamboo Forests; Tropical Bamboo Forests; Air-breathing Coral Reefs; Graveyard Vale; Mountain; Sky; Warm River; Cold River; Lukewarm River; Subterranean River; Warm Pond; Cold Pond; Warm Lake; Cold Lake; Salt Lake; Aquifer; Warm Littoral; Cold Littoral; Warm Intertidal; Cold Intertidal; Kelp Forest; Coral Reef; Barrier Reef; Guyot; Neritic Zone (Warm); Neritic Zone (Cold); Pelagic Zone (Warm); Pelagic Zone (Cold); Benthic Zone.

• Earth: 

  • Extinct: Dominica Republic; Haiti

• Reinachos: 

  • Extant & Introduced (Resident): ugh

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• This is first tardigrade ever draw by Ognimdo2002.

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sialomorpha

• https://www.livescience.com/mold-pig-discovery.html

• https://news.oregonstate.edu/news/meet-%e2%80%98mold-pigs%e2%80%99-new-group-invertebrates-30-million-years-ago

• https://www.deviantart.com/ognimdo2002/art/Sialomorpha-dominicana-1043278987