Cheryl Santa Maria
Digital Reporter
Tuesday, October 5th 2021
You may have heard of Triops before but under a different name. With eggs that can stay dormant for decades and an ability to survive in harsh conditions, they are often sold in kits designed for children, who are encouraged to put the eggs in water and watch the creatures grow.
Often branded as "prehistoric sea creatures," the novelty aquarium pets have three eyes and can reach up to 1 cm when fully grown. They kind of look like tadpoles, but with an extra-terrestrial twist.
Back in July, a monsoon hit Flagstaff, Arizona, an area that typically receives around 230 mm of rain a year. But over a period of about 10 days, 127 mm fell, and that was enough to hydrate dormant Triops eggs.
Within a week the hatchlings had matured, and they were visible in a temporary pond that formed in the ball court at Wupatki National Monument, LiveScience reports. Triops sightings are rare, and at first, park staff wasn't sure what to make of them.
Triops usually lay their eggs in the desert, where they remain until enough rain accumulates for them to hatch, creating another generation of crustaceans that will go on to lay more eggs.
They typically live up to 90 days, but the temporary lake only lasted for about a month. And it didn't take long for local wildlife to notice the new addition to the pond, with birds swooping in to eat the critters. It's not clear if any Triops were able to lay eggs before the water evaporated.
Triops can be found in Africa, Australia, Asia, South America, Europe, and North America, typically inhabiting temporary pools. They're often branded as "prehistoric" because their ancestors evolved between 419 and 359 million years ago - long before the dinosaurs made an appearance some 252 million years ago.
While Triops' appearance hasn't changed much in all that time, they have evolved, making the moniker 'prehistoric' somewhat inaccurate.
Triops can help curb the spread of the West Nile virus because they consume mosquito larvae that spread the disease. In Japan, Triops can sometimes be found in rice paddies, eating away at the weeds.
Thumbnail graphic created by Cheryl Santa Maria. Image courtesy: Getty.
‘Dinosaur Shrimp’ Discovery in Northern Arizona; Unusual Finding of Hundreds of Tadpole-Size Creatures After Heavy Rainfall
After a heavy summer downpour in Arizona, reports of a "dinosaur shrimp" discovery have spread, identifying the new find as "Triops," tadpole-size creatures.
According to officials at Wupatki National Monument, a Live Science report said that hundreds of unusual, prehistoric critters appeared from tiny eggs and started to swim around a temporary lake on the desert landscape.
Lead interpretation ranger Lauren Carter from Wupatki National Monument said the tiny creatures look like small mini-horseshoe crabs with three eyes.
The Central Michigan University said the dinosaur shrimps' eggs could lay dormant for several decades in the desert until adequate rain falls to make lakes that provide habitat and time for the maturity of the hatchlings and later lay eggs for the next generation.
A Greek term for ‘three eyes,’ Triops, are at times called ‘dinosaur shrimp’ due to their long evolutionary background.
Triops' Unusual Appearances
Appearances of the Triops are unusual when tourists reported that they saw the at a provisional, rain-filled lake within the ceremonial ball court of the monument, a circular walled structure about 32 meters across, the staff of the monument was unsure what to make of the tiny discoveries.
Carter explained that after a monsoon during the latter part of July, they knew that "there was water in the ball court," although they didn't expect anything living in it. Then, a tourist came up and said there were tadpoles down in the ball court.
Initially, the lead interpretation ranger wondered if toads, living in underground burrows during the dry season, had arisen during the wet spell to lay eggs.
To investigate further, Carter went to the ball court, which was originally constructed by the indigenous people at Wupatki.
She continued, saying she just scooped the creature up with her hands and looked at it and elaborated she had no idea. She felt an inkling of familiarity, though, as had worked before at Petrified Forest National Park in northeastern Arizona, and remembered reports of Triops in the area.
Crustacean with 3 Eyes
A Greek term for "three eyes," Triops, described in the Triops World site, is at times called "dinosaur shrimp" due to their long evolutionary background.
These crustaceans' ancestors evolved 419 million to 359 million years ago, during the Devonian period, and their emergence has changed very minimally since then, the Central Michigan University stated.
Notably, the dinosaurs did not appear until much later during the Triassic period, which started around 252 million years ago.
Nevertheless, these crustaceans are not the same as their ancestors, and thus, they would not be regarded as living fossils.
In connection to this, Carter said she doesn't like the term "living fossil" as it leads to a misunderstanding with the public that has not changed at all.
"But they have changed," she pointed out and added, these creatures have evolved. It's just that their outward emergence is quite similar to what they were millions of years back.
'Lucky' Creatures
Typically, Flagstaff, Arizona, gets approximately nine inches or 22.0 centimeters of rain each year, according to Carter. In this case, the Triops found at Wupatki National Monument got fortunate with short yet intense rainfall.
Last year, Flagstaff experienced the driest, lowest monsoon summer ever recorded with only four inches or 10.2 centimeters of rain. However, in the last week and a half of July this year, the region got an uproar of rain, almost five inches or 12.7 centimeters, a similar CΙnet report specified.
During that time, according to a Central Michigan University description, the eggs of the Triops hatched, and in just a few hours, the little critters possibly started filter feeding.
As in any other crustaceans, they underwent several molts before ultimately maturing in just more than one week.
The dinosaur shrimp appearance was also reported on 12 News's YouTube video below:
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