Monster-Watch is ready to hand out it’s first superlative. We hereby dub the tardigrades “Earth’s toughest animal.” We’re not the first to hand the itty-bitty beast this title. Researchers have been enamored with the eight-legged, millimeter-long water critters for more than hundred years.

Tardigrades have thrived in the Himalayas, deep oceans, and probably your backyard. It can survive at 303 degrees Fahrenheit, or one degree above absolute zero. It shrugs off lethal radiation, can last a decade without water, and has even been fired into outer space. After every test scientists put it through, the tiny tank rolls on.

“When necessary, tardigrades can slow their metabolisms by a factor of ten thousand, and require just one percent of the water they normally consume. They make cockroaches look fragile,” writes Wired. “They seem simultaneously ethereal and earthy, more soulful than I'd ever expect a few thousand cells to be.”

Check out this awesome new video of tardigrades in action, and click on the link below to see more.