Seed Media Group

Zooillogix

Don't Stick Your Fingers in the Cage

Search this blog

Video of the Week

Nose Tentacle Action

Bleiman Brothers Profile

isopod%201.jpg
In the wild, Andrew feeds on fish, sponges, small crustaceans, nematode worms and protozoans.

javanensis.GIF
Benny's diet is very specialized, consisting mainly of the interior of Ramy nuts, nectar from the Traveller's Palm tree, some fungi and insect grubs. He is also known to raid coconut plantations, and has been seen eating lychees and mangoes, which are also plantation crops.

Recent Posts

Recent Comments

Archives

Blogroll



Look How Important We Are


Nature Blog Network

View blog authority

Add to Technorati Favorites



Science Blogs - Blog Catalog Blog Directory

Read the super-informative Interview with the Bleiman Brothers

World's Largest Zoo and Shot Glass Collection


Now accepting donations in exchange for recognition and fame on Zooillogix!

baton%20rouge%20zoo%20shotglass%20resized.jpg
Currently Featured: Baton Rouge Zoo generously donated by a ScienceBlogs reader / fellow shot glass collector. A noble hobby.

The List:
Adventure Aquarium
Baton Rouge Zoo
Bronx Zoo
Brookfield Zoo
Cincinnati Zoo
Cleveland Metroparks Zoo
Florida Aquarium
Georgia Aquarium
Knoxville Zoo
Lincoln Park Zoo
Maritime Center in Norwalk, CT
Monterey Bay Aquarium
Mystic Aquarium
New England Aquarium
New York Aquarium
Newport Aquarium
Philadelphia Zoo
Ripley's Aquarium of the Smokies
San Diego Zoo
Sea World San Diego
Shedd Aquarium
Smithsonian National Zoo
South Carolina Aquarium
Tennessee Aquarium
Feed me Seymour!

« Secrets of Black Widow Silk Revealed | Main | 4 Cats, 1 Rat Artificially Resuscitated After Fire »

Sea Monkeys on Steroids

Category: crustaceanpettriops
Posted on: June 20, 2007 2:57 PM, by ableiman


Triops australiensis
Where the hell were these things when I was a kid? Triops are small crustaceans in the class branchiopoda, that grow quickly and massively, reaching three inches or longer at full size. Their external appearance has apparently not changed since the appearance of Triops cancrifromis, 220 million years ago in the Triassic Period. This may make the Triops, also called tadpole shrimp or shield shrimp, the oldest living animal species on earth.


An adorable triops eating a piece of corn. This playful behavior in juveniles has a very practical application in adulthood, when Triops must lay eggs in struggling humans' stomachs.

Although a few Triops' populations are evenly divided between the male and female sex, the vast majority are entirely female and reproduce through parthenogenesis. In this case, that means that the egg and embryo grow without fertilization from a male. However, all female Triops populations aren't the harmonious societies NOW might have you believe. Cannibalization of young Triops is common and even freshly molted adult Triops often find themselves the victims of their not so freshly-molted brethren.

Learn more about Triops from Stuart Halliday, a Scotsman who has devoted himself to the ungrateful critters. You can purchase your very own prehistoric beasty from American Science Surplus. Finally, thanks to our friends at Shinka3 (Japanese animal blog) for bringing the critters to our attention.

Comments

"braNchiopod"

Posted by: Brennon | August 23, 2007 10:28 PM

Post a Comment

(Email is required for authentication purposes only. Comments are moderated for spam, your comment may not appear immediately. Thanks for waiting.)





Having problems commenting? (UPDATED)

Blogs in the Network

Advertisement

Top Five: Most Active

Search All Blogs

Top Science Stories

powered by SEED - seedmagazine.com