Tag Archives: Weird

Triops longicaudatus from Rodeo, New Mexico. These living fossils spend most of the year as dried-up eggs in the desert, and hatch when monsoon rains form large puddles. They grow quickly, eating fairy shrimp (also pictured in video), mosquito larvae, snails, and a variety of aquatic invertebrates. They attain a maximum size of about 4 centimeters before laying eggs as the puddles dry up. These animals have changed little in 70 million years. They swim with their many legs (up to 132 in large individuals) and possess 3 eyes. This species is an ally to humans because it eats Culex mosquitoes, carriers of West Nile Virus.