Polish researchers working in Ecuador have discovered a new species of tardigrade and named it after Bizhan Sharopov, a Ukrainian biologist and soldier who was killed in action in 2022.

Source: Bogomoletz Institute of Physiology at the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine

Details: Tardigrades (Tardigrada) are microscopic invertebrates known for their ability to survive in extreme conditions – from outer space to boiling temperatures, radiation and complete dehydration.

These organisms can enter a state of cryptobiosis, in which their metabolism nearly stops, allowing them to survive for decades.

A team of scientists from the universities of Poznań and Gdańsk recently described several new tardigrade species discovered in Ecuador in the journal Plos.One.

One of them – Macrobiotus sharopovi – was named in honour of Hero of Ukraine Bizhan Sharopov.

"The authors dedicated the species name to Ukrainian scientist Dr Bizhan Sharopov, neurophysiologist, activist and soldier who tragically died in action defending Ukraine during the Russia–Ukraine War," the article reads.

A new species of tardigrade named after Bizhan Sharopov.

Photo: journal Plos.One

Sharopov graduated from the biology programme at the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy. He was an active participant in the Revolution of Dignity and served in the Aidar battalion in 2014-2015.

After being demobilised, he defended his PhD thesis and continued his scientific work.

From 2019 to 2021, Sharopov chaired the Council of Young Scientists at the Bogomoletz Institute of Physiology and was a researcher at the Department of Neuromuscular Physiology at the same institute, as well as the chief biologist at Ukrainian Genetic Technologies.

At the start of Russia's full-scale invasion, Sharopov returned to the front as part of the 112th Territorial Defence Brigade. He went missing in action in April 2022.

"You were a brilliant scientist. One of the best science communicators in the country. And you were a true warrior. Heroes die, sadly. It’s hard to fathom the abyss of ideas and plans that perished with you," wrote his friend and physicist Anton Senenko.

In 2023, his death was officially confirmed and he was posthumously awarded the title Hero of Ukraine.

In 2024, a final paper he had been working on was published posthumously in the prestigious Journal of Physiology (London).

Background: Ukrainian researchers have previously named a newly discovered insect species after the Heavenly Hundred, the group of protesters killed during the Revolution of Dignity.

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