Eric Gofreed
Well-Known Member
Desert Revival: Triops and Fairy Shrimp from a Wupatki Roadside Puddle
This is an older photo, newly reprocessed, with a fresh write-up to match. After a monsoon rain at Wupatki National Monument, I collected a quart of water from a roadside puddle, home to dormant eggs just waiting for moisture to return. Back home, I let the sediment settle and added spring water to clear it up. Sure enough, a Triops appeared—about an inch long! These ancient creatures can grow up to 2 or even 3 inches, but mine did not grow. I moved it into a homemade 5×7×¾-inch aquarium (a wine glass works too!) for a photo. A red-tailed fairy shrimp emerged as well—two prehistoric survivors now swimming in my fishbowl. The Triops lived for about three weeks and enjoyed fish food flakes.
Triops are tiny, ancient crustaceans often called “dinosaur shrimp” because they’ve remained virtually unchanged for over 300 million years. They live in temporary pools—like roadside puddles or desert rain basins—and hatch from eggs that can lie dormant in dry soil for years. When water returns, the eggs quickly hatch, and the Triops grow at an astonishing pace, often reaching full size within a week. With their shield-shaped bodies, long tails, and three eyes, they resemble miniature horseshoe crabs from a prehistoric world. Hardy and adaptable, they feed on algae, tiny insects, and whatever else drifts their way. Watching them swim is like witnessing a living fossil
They don’t roar or bite or thunder or limp
But Triops are still a dinosaur shrimp.
This is an older photo, newly reprocessed, with a fresh write-up to match. After a monsoon rain at Wupatki National Monument, I collected a quart of water from a roadside puddle, home to dormant eggs just waiting for moisture to return. Back home, I let the sediment settle and added spring water to clear it up. Sure enough, a Triops appeared—about an inch long! These ancient creatures can grow up to 2 or even 3 inches, but mine did not grow. I moved it into a homemade 5×7×¾-inch aquarium (a wine glass works too!) for a photo. A red-tailed fairy shrimp emerged as well—two prehistoric survivors now swimming in my fishbowl. The Triops lived for about three weeks and enjoyed fish food flakes.
Triops are tiny, ancient crustaceans often called “dinosaur shrimp” because they’ve remained virtually unchanged for over 300 million years. They live in temporary pools—like roadside puddles or desert rain basins—and hatch from eggs that can lie dormant in dry soil for years. When water returns, the eggs quickly hatch, and the Triops grow at an astonishing pace, often reaching full size within a week. With their shield-shaped bodies, long tails, and three eyes, they resemble miniature horseshoe crabs from a prehistoric world. Hardy and adaptable, they feed on algae, tiny insects, and whatever else drifts their way. Watching them swim is like witnessing a living fossil
They don’t roar or bite or thunder or limp
But Triops are still a dinosaur shrimp.
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