Behold: the first recorded image of a tardigrade

In December 1772, Goeze gathered samples from stagnant water and discovered the "animalcules" within some duckweed

The first recorded image of a tardigrade comes from a 1773 study by German pastor Johann August Ephraim Goeze.

In December 1772, Goeze gathered samples from stagnant water and discovered the "animalcules" within some duckweed, a small, floating aquatic plant commonly found in freshwater ponds, lakes, and stagnant water bodies. 

After coming across these t…