Longtail Tadpole Shrimp
The longtail tadpole shrimp (Triops longicaudatus) is a North American species of tadpole shrimp that lives in temporary rain pools. It is the type most often sold in hobby kits.
The longtail tadpole shrimp (Triops longicaudatus) is a North American species of tadpole shrimp that lives in temporary rain pools. It is the type most often sold in hobby kits.
🧬 Field Guide Specimen: Open Longtail Tadpole Shrimp in the CRV Science Field Guide to log the specimen, see its place among the Ecdysozoa lineages in the Cladogram Explorer, and test your recall in the Red List conservation game.
Eggs in the Dust
The drought-resistant eggs can lie dormant in dried mud for years until rain refills the pond, then hatch within a day. The animals grow rapidly and reach maturity in about two weeks.
Omnivores in a Rush
Tadpole shrimps eat algae, detritus, insect larvae and each other. They are even used to control mosquito larvae. See Tadpole Shrimp.
Crop Impacts
In rice fields, tadpole shrimps can uproot seedlings, but they are also eaten by waterbirds that visit the temporary ponds.
Longtail Tadpole Shrimp at a Glance
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Scientific name | Triops longicaudatus |
| Kingdom | Animalia |
| Phylum | Arthropoda |
| Class | Branchiopoda |
| Order | Notostraca |
| Family | Triopsidae |
| Field Guide group | Ecdysozoa: Mandibulata (Mandibulates) |
| Diagnostic feature (Field Guide) | Freshwater ephemeral-pool crustacean bearing a broad horseshoe-shaped dorsal carapace, three visual organs (two compound eyes plus a median naupliar ocellus), dozens of leaf-like phyllopod appendages, and twin caudal furcae. |
| Order | Notostraca |
| Time to adult | About two weeks |