CACAdmin
Sep 1st 2008, 09:54 AM
Rains revive prehistoric shrimp (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/south_of_scotland/7586010.stm)
The tadpole shrimp, a species which has been around since before the dinosaurs, but is almost extinct in the UK has received a helping hand from nature recently with heavy rainfall.
They live "in seasonal pools which dry out in the summer". The produce two kinds of eggs: "one which hatches soon after production if the conditions are right and the other which can lie dormant in dried-out pools for decades."
And so the recent heavy rains have provided the ideal environment for those dormant eggs to hatch. It never ceases to amaze me at the ingenious ways in which many creatures have evolved to ensure their survival.
The tadpole shrimp, a species which has been around since before the dinosaurs, but is almost extinct in the UK has received a helping hand from nature recently with heavy rainfall.
They live "in seasonal pools which dry out in the summer". The produce two kinds of eggs: "one which hatches soon after production if the conditions are right and the other which can lie dormant in dried-out pools for decades."
And so the recent heavy rains have provided the ideal environment for those dormant eggs to hatch. It never ceases to amaze me at the ingenious ways in which many creatures have evolved to ensure their survival.