Tadpole Shrimp (Triops cancriformis)
Save a ‘Living Fossil’
‘A living fossil’ – believed to be the oldest surviving animal species in the world - the tadpole shrimp’s appearance has remained almost unchanged for the last 220 million years! With its shield-like carapace, three eyes and long, flexible ‘tails’ – and growing up to 11cm in length - it looks positively prehistoric, like a miniature horseshoe crab. They grub about on the bottom of shallow pools eating anything they can find – plants, small invertebrates and even each other!
These amazing animals have an extraordinary lifecycle. They only live in temporary ponds, giving them an advantage by reducing predators and other competitors, but they have to cope with no water for most of the summer. They do this by producing eggs (cysts) which remain dormant during the dry phase. Cleverly, only a proportion of the eggs will hatch each time it rains to prevent the population being lost if the pond then dries out again too quickly. Some eggs survive this way for decades before the conditions are right. The biggest threats to this species is loss of grazing on its ponds, which is essential to maintain the right habitat - very short grassy ponds - and climate change which could make the handful of remaining ponds unsuitable for the tadpole shrimp’s survival.
Our native Tadpole Shrimp is currently found in only two locations, the New Forest in Southern England and near the Solway Firth in Scotland. One of Britian’s most endangered animals, this species is so rare, and its populations so isolated from each other, that there is a very high risk it will become extinct without our help.
Your gift of £12.00 will help us to create new seasonal ponds suitable for Tadpole Shrimps.
The Give and Let Live Scheme is supported by our friends at Miller Philanthropy,
with additional thanks to Nick Roberts Design for the illustrations.
