WEBIOCOSM ZOO
Last Updated March 07, 2008
Webiocosm
This is a Triops, or Triops longicaudatus. It is in the class
Branchiopoda and order Nostraca and is sometimes also referred to as a
tadpole shrimp. This little crustacean was raised from an egg along with
a bunch of other eggs that came in a kit called
"Triassic Triops", which I purchased at a local hobby store. I was
hoping to put the eggs in a small container and then make a time-lapse
video of these things growing over a week or so. For many reasons it
didn't work out but I have had a good time watching the two that made
it. They are interesting because according to Wikipedia, Their
external morphology has apparently not changed since the Triassic
appearance of Triops cancriformis around 220 million years ago. Triops
cancriformis may therefore be the "oldest living animal species on
earth." They also grow very fast and for the first week or more, a
substantial increase in size can be seen from day to day. Having had no
prior knowledge of this animal, there are too many fine details about
its morphology and habits for me to try to get in to so I will just
leave you with a couple of good links from people who actually know
these animals. Here is the page of the
company that produces the kit I bought. Here is the
Triops information
page.
Triops longicaudatus
The above pics show the size of my Triops after 2-3 weeks, what the
underside looks like (they frequently swim upside down), and the box
that the kit came in.
Here is a brief
video of my Triops pair at YouTube or a
larger, sharper QuickTime Triops video is here (7.5 mb, 27 sec.).
Here is my original post on Triops longicaudatus on the blog.
References
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