The animal reconstitutes in favorable conditions. This behavior is utilized to prepare specimens. Stout posterior legs not set off by cuticular folds. Characteristics shared with mites include four pairs of legs, indistinct segmentation, and piercing stylets. Tardigrades are believed to have many Aschelminthe affinities.
Further study is required to authoritatively place the phylum Tardigrada.
Barnes, RI 1980. Saunders Co. pp. 876-880 Pennak, R. 1973. Freshwater Invertebrates of the United States. John Wiley and Sons.