If you watch the video without an introduction, you would think it was taken from a Hollywood science fiction movie scene. Maybe an alien movie or even a time-traveling movie.
Triops, are from Earth, and they are flourishing on our planet today. They look like tiny horseshoe crabs, but they have three eyes. After a long dry spell, these little creatures suddenly appeared in puddles following heavy rain in Northern Arizona.
These tiny creatures are sometimes called ‘dinosaur shrimp’ because they have been around for about 400 million years. That means they existed long before the dinosaurs emerged. They do not look exactly the same as when they first appeared, but they didn’t evolve that much either.
Their appearance surprises people because their eggs could lie dormant for decades, awaiting the perfect conditions. Following a sufficient downpour of rain, they hatch and take to the puddles and ponds.
The eggs have a unique structure that serves as a shield for eggs. These eggs are called cysts, which can withstand high temperatures, drought, and even radiation. They could be transported inside migratory birds or on the feet of animals as they walk through mud.
Lauren Carter, lead interpretation ranger at Wupatki National Monument, said: ‘I just scooped it up with my hand and looked at it and was like ‘What is that?’ I had no idea.’ The region got an irregular rainfall of about 5 inches. This was the perfect condition for these perfect creatures to hatch.
Tests on the International Space Station concluded that these ancient creatures could survive in space for 18 months and might become a source of protein for astronauts. Would you pick up and play with these mysterious three-eyed creatures like the person in the video?
