Size isn’t everything: Tiny animals sex tape shows tardigrade couple's mating marathon (VIDEO)

A team of researchers have released a mind-blowing sex tape with a difference, after studying the impressive mating habits of 30 tardigrade couples.

The microscopic creatures, who are known for their ability to survive the most extreme conditions, including freezing and boiling temperatures, the vacuum of outer space and total desiccation, came under the spotlight of scientists, curious to find out more about how these “ultimate survivors” get it on.

Unsurprisingly, considering the tiny creatures’ penchant for the weird and wonderful, scientists discovered a “much more complex process” than they had expected.

This included the creatures’ engagement in foreplay and their impressive stamina, taking part in hour-long sex marathons.

Researchers from Senckenberg Museum of Natural History in Görlitz, Germany analyzed the mating habits of the bisexual water bears to find out how exactly these practically unkillable creatures reproduce. The study which is the first detailed observation of the tardigrades sexual behavior has been published in the Zoological Journal.

Scientists observed that before the one millimeter-sized creatures got down to the business of semen ejaculation and egg deposition, the couple embraced in some “mutual stimulation.” That’s micro-foreplay, to me and you.

Then comes the money shot, when the male ejaculates onto the female's outer layer of skin, and the eggs are laid. While this confirms fertilization happens outside the female’s body, the scientists say it’s not entirely clear how the semen reaches the eggs.

In some cases, no mating took place and the females reabsorb the eggs. Scientists note that, unlike their human counterparts, the male tardigrade can ejaculate semen several times during the hour-long process.

Further research is needed to gain a greater insight into the tardigrade’s reproduction processes and explain why the tiny creatures take part in foreplay, and how the sperm is directed appropriately.

Earlier this year Japanese researchers revived some water bears after they had been trapped in ice for thirty years. They went on to lay eggs and hatched healthy offspring despite being frozen for decades.

READ MORE:Defrosted tiny animals come back to life, breed after 30 years in freezer