Oldest Living Species On The Planet Found Swimming In a Puddle

kalila courban

Jun 15, 2021 11:00 AM EDT

Hello to all! Today we'd like to introduce you to a very little known animal species. Triops cancriformis, or tadpole shrimp, is a species of tadpole shrimp found in Europe to the Middle East and India. Due to habitat destruction, many populations have recently been lost across its European range, so, the species is considered endangered in the United Kingdom and in several European countries. Tadpole shrimps can be up to 10cm long when fully grown and have a broad oval shell at their front end and a long slender abdomen, giving them a tadpole-like shape.

This species is considered to be one of the oldest living species on the planet at around 200 million years old. Hold up…how old?! That's right, you read that correctly. This now endangered species has been around for 200 millionnnn years. They live in temporary stands of water and their eggs can survive for a long time in dry sediment. In fact you may have encountered Triops 'kits' in shops - packets of eggs and food from which you can hatch your own small Triops as pets. These are often marketed as 'from the age of the dinosaurs' or 'prehistoric sea monsters.' Pretty flippin cool.

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via Sashko Bubela

Humans have been searching for these guys for several years and finally found them in a very small puddle on a forest glade. The litni shitni or triops cancriformis are crustaceans that appeared on Earth in the Triassic period, about 220 million years ago. They are of the same age as dinosaurs.
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via Sashko Bubela

They live only in small rain puddles. They grow very quickly until the pond is dry, and then leave the eggs. The next generation will wait for the right conditions for almost 10 years. Humans want to get an idea of the size of the puddles.
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via Sashko Bubela
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