Hum. I must be in the wrong thread.
Meanwhile, regarding the Tardigrade - yes it seems, though they have only a 3 to 9 month 'lifespan', they're actually able to 'be around' for some decades.
The reason? They're able to go into a deep state of 'hybernation' for as much as 10 years... (or maybe more)... during which they do not 'age' as it were.
They're found everywhere on the planet, from hottest climates to the seas of Antarctica, and have been around for a very long time, having survived all 7 ice
ages.
Scientists are currently studying them for a number of reasons... not least due to hope they can determine, then tap into, how the critters manage 'sleep' so long.
Potential application under consideration is space
travel. Given it takes light about 4.9 years to reach our nearest galacti neighbor, and at our best currently known speeds it wiould take us about 100,000 years, some means of extending life seems essential if we really want to get anywhere but here.
The tardigrade, of which there are over 1,000 tiny species, ranges from about 0.05mm - 1.2mm in body length... first noted in 1773 by a German fellow, Goeze, , then expounded further in 1777 by an Itallian biologist, Spallanzini.
They're also called the "water bear' or 'little bear' (because it's always found in or near water...water being essential to its life. At the first sign of a lack of water, it curls into a ball and goes into the lengthy hybernation state, returning immediately to full Tardigrade-ness at the first hint of moisture.)
The "moss piglet' is another name for them, as they're abundant in mossy (moist) areas.
And of course, they look much like a bear or piglet.
Tardigrade, the name given by Goeze, means 'slow stepper'.
If I've already posted about the Tardigrade, do forgive me. I didn't look back at history I fear....