The Miracle of “Instant Life®”
Brine shrimp, famously known as Sea-Monkeys®, have an extraordinary ability to survive extreme conditions through a process called cryptobiosis. This survival mechanism allows them to enter a dormant state when faced with harsh environments such as drought or extreme cold. In this state, their metabolic activity nearly halts, and their cellular structures are protected, enabling them to endure for years.
When their aquatic habitat dries up, brine shrimp form tiny, desiccated cysts. These cysts can remain dormant for extended periods, withstanding conditions that would typically be fatal to other organisms. Once reintroduced to water, they spring back to life, continuing their lifecycle as if no time had passed.
Cryptobiosis is a crucial adaptation that has allowed brine shrimp to survive for millions of years. Their resilience makes them one of nature’s most fascinating creatures, capable of enduring extreme environments and thriving once conditions improve.
The 'shrimps' that are older than the dinosaurs: Prehistoric crustaceans dating back 500 MILLION years are spotted in a pond in China
By TRACY YOU for MAIL ONLINE:
- The rare creatures, dubbed 'fairy shrimps', were found by a group of engineers in Jiangsu this week
- An expert says they are actually different from modern shrimps despite being similar in appearance
- Fossils indicate the ancestors of the species existed 530 million years ago in the Cambrian Period
- Their eggs can survive being boiled and remain in soil for years before hatching, the expert explains
A type of ancient shrimp, which emerged more than 500 million years ago before the dawn of the dinosaurs, has been spotted in China. The rare species, referred to as 'fairy shrimps', could date back as far as the Cambrian Period and are related to, but not the direct ancestors of, today's shrimp. A troupe of them were spotted this week in a pond in the city of Lianyungang, Jiangsu Province, by several engineers who were working nearby.
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When Giant ’Shrimps’ Ruled The Earth
By BEN G. THOMAS:
The life that once inhabited this planet never ceases to be weird. All throughout the history of life, there have been incredible forms of organisms that appear to push the limits of our own imaginations and understandings, and arguably some of the most fantastic of these creatures are the anomalocarids.
Ben G Thomas - YouTube:
