Growth Cycle of Triops

Triops or the members of the order Notostraca and they usually referred as tadpole shrimps, or shield shrimp due to their superficial resemblance to the frog larvae. They have 3 eyes, out of which two are internal compound eyes and the other one is naupliar eye in between the two. It has a flattened shell covering its head and legs of the body and they can be easily recognized by their large horseshoe shaped dorsal carapace. The body structure and the characteristics of these animals have not changed from the past 220 million years and hence we say that these are the oldest living creatures in the world.

Tadpole shrimps can be characterized by their wide fluctuations in the dense populated areas. They will have difficulties in finding food when their population increases, and hence they become very active in search for the food. Food shortage will reduce their development and also their fecundity rate. However their mortality rate increases as a result of the cannibalistic behavior.

The most important factor for the success of the tadpole shrimps is their quick rate of development and growth. Their fecundity is always related to the oxygen tension and the temperature and hence small changes in the atmosphere will always have an impact on the number of eggs they lay in a particular season.

Reproduction and Development »