Beorn (tardigrade)
| Beorn Temporal range: Late Cretaceous, | |
|---|---|
| Holotype specimen under various imaging techniques | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Tardigrada |
| Class: | Eutardigrada |
| Order: | Parachela |
| Family: | Hypsibiidae |
| Genus: | †Beorn Cooper, 1964 |
| Species: | †B. leggi |
| Binomial name | |
| †Beorn leggi Cooper, 1964 | |
Beorn is an extinct genus of tardigrade and the first known fossil tardigrade, discocered in Late Cretaceous amber from Manitoba, Canada. The genus contains a single species, B. leggi, and it was originally classified as the only member of its family, the Beornidae, but was later reclassified as belonging to the Hypsibiidae.
It is one of three fossil tardigrades known from the Cretaceous, the others being Milnesium swolenskyi from the Turonian New Jersey amber and Aerobius from the same amber piece as Beorn. The only other confidently known fossil tardigrade is the Miocene Paradoryphoribius from the Dominican Republic.
In addition to some other finds from the Cretaceous and the Cambrian period, Beorn is an example of the early existence of tardigrades in earth's history, and its largely modern appearance suggests that tardigrades must have diversified considerably before this time.