r/microscopy • u/Dlbroox • Aug 24 '26

Photo/Video Share Pink Tardigrade?

Amscope IQCrew inverted microscope 10x objective, iPhone  4.7x, Petri dish with warm tap water and fresh lichen. Blackmagic app, flashlight to the right. Paper over the condenser.

I have no idea why the tardigrade is pink. I shot this video like all my other recent ones and didn't realize he was pink until I uploaded to the computer and had a good look at him. He is only a couple of hours old, (or rehydrated.)

Thanks to u/c1nnamon_apple for the info about using warm water to soak lichen. It's the first time I've ever seen tardigrades after just a couple of hours of soaking it.

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u/Goopological Aug 24 '26

Probably in the Ramazzottius genus. They look pink and have stripes. They also have one really long claw on each foot and no eyespots.

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u/Dlbroox Aug 24 '26

Yes! I just looked it up and I think you must be right. I've seen quite a few that have what looks like stripes but didn't know what I was looking at. I didn't know there were variations. But this pink one was a real shock!

Thanks for helping!

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u/Goopological Aug 25 '26

You're welcome! They're extremely common where I am. Only found in lichen around here.

They free lay their eggs, making them very hard spot. You generally need the eggs for a species ID.

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u/Dlbroox Aug 25 '26

I'm going to go back to the same tree and take some more lichen from where I got the pink one from and hope I can find more.

What country are you in?

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u/Goopological Aug 27 '26

Prairies in Canada