Prehistoric shrimp emerge from Australian desert after heavy rain
Imagine millions of these slithering out from the mud? The eggs of this alien desert crustacean remain dormant for years, waiting for a bout of rain to hatch. In the desert of Australia – land of all creatures wonderful and weird – dwells a remnant of prehistoric time, a crustacean known as a shield shrimp. Triops australiensis, which looks like the love child of a horseshoe crab and a creature from the far side of the universe, belongs to a group of crustaceans called “branchiopods,” meaning “gill feet” – because…
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