Plectus parvus

Plectus parvus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Nematoda
Class:
Chromadorea
Order:
Plectida
Family:
Plectidae
Genus:
Plectus
Species:
P. parvus
Binomial name
Plectus parvus

Plectus parvus is a species of nematode (roundworm) found in freshwater and terrestrial environments. It has been sampled in Europe and New Zealand.[1] Along with the similar nematode Panagrolaimus detritophagus, in 2018 it was the first species of multicellular eukaryote to be thawed into a living state after prolonged cryopreservation. Female worms of this species were found in Pleistocene permafrost in the Kolyma River lowland (one of the sites was near the Alazeya River).[2] They were mobile and ate, after being frozen for 30–40 thousand years.[3][4]

  1. ^ a b "WoRMS – World Register of Marine Species – Plectus parvus Bastian, 1865". Marinespecies.org. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
  2. ^ "Siberian Worms Survived More Than 30,000 Years Stuck in Permafrost". Atlas Obscura. 30 July 2018. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
  3. ^ Weisberger, Mindy (27 July 2018). "Worms Frozen for 42,000 Years in Siberian Permafrost Wriggle to Life". Live Science. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  4. ^ Shatilovich, A. V.; Tchesunov, A. V.; Neretina, T. V.; Grabarnik, I. P.; Gubin, S. V.; Vishnivetskaya, T. A.; Onstott, T. C.; Rivkina, E. M. (1 May 2018). "Viable Nematodes from Late Pleistocene Permafrost of the Kolyma River Lowland". Doklady Biological Sciences. 480 (1): 100–102. doi:10.1134/s0012496618030079. PMID 30009350.