 |
 |
 |
|
Shield Shrimps or Triops are prolific after rain. I've also found them on top of Uluru in small pools of water. In some places where the water had evaporated their dried shells blew about in the wind and accumulated in noooks and crannies like confetti. Their eggs can lay dormant in the dust for 10 years or more until the next rain. It is a crustacean which is found all over inland Australia and develops very rapidly in rainstorm puddles.
|
|||||
| Triops are crustaceans that look like miniature horseshoe crabs. Triops normally live 20 to 90 days and grow quickly to their adult length of one to three inches. After hatching, they often double in size daily. Triops are usually in constant motion and do amazing acrobatics. Triops have survived from the dinosaur era. Triops grow normally in temporary ponds all over the world. These ponds usually dry up during certain times of the year when there is no rainfall. Although the adult Triops die during these droughts, the embryos remain in a state of diapause (suspended animation) until the rains return and fill up the temporary ponds once again, making it safe for them to hatch. Researchers study diapause in the hope of extracting the biological-clock-stopping chemical found in the eggs. They believe that it could be used to suspend cellular growth in humans. Imagine the potential uses: from slowing the aging process, to putting a stop to cancer growth or to easing space travel! In fact, Triops have flown on two NASA space missions to date. Researchers are now able to control diapause and produce eggs in suspended animation. Below : The area where the Triops were photographed in receding floodwaters near Marla, South Australia. |
|||||
