Triops
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Triops Temporal range: 300–0 Ma |
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| Triops longicaudatus | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Crustacea |
| Class: | Branchiopoda |
| Order: | Notostraca |
| Family: | Triopsidae |
| Genus: |
Triops Schrank, 1803 |
| Species | |
Triops is a genus of small crustaceans in the order Notostraca (tadpole shrimp). Some species are considered living fossils, with a fossil record that reaches back to the late Carboniferous, 300 million years ago. One species, Triops longicaudatus, is commonly sold in kits as a pet. Most Triops have a life expectancy of up to 90 days, and can tolerate a pH range of 6–10.
The genus Triops can be distinguished from the only other genus of Notostraca, Lepidurus, by the form of the telson (its 'tail'), which bears only a pair of long, thin caudal extensions in Triops, while Lepidurus also bears a central platelike process. Only 24 hours after hatching they already resemble miniature versions of the adult form.
Triops are sometimes called "living fossils," since fossils attributable to this genus have been found in rocks of Carboniferous age, an estimated 300 million years ago, and one extant species, Triops cancriformis, has hardly changed since the Jurassic period (approximately 180 million years ago).
Triops can be found in Africa, Australia, Asia, South America, Great Britain, and in some parts of North America where the climate is right. Some eggs stay unhatched from the previous group and hatch when rain soaks the area. Triops are fond of dirty, warm water filled with bacteria, which they eat.
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Wikipedia