Image by: Cathryn Hoyt

Triops

From: Marfa Public Radio
Series: Nature Notes
Length: :59

These tiny crustaceans come to life for just a short while during our rainy season, but their eggs can wait decades to hatch and ride the wind for hundreds of miles. Read the full description.

Piece Audio

Playing: Triops
From: Marfa Public Radio

Triops-2010-9-3-img_5156_small Around this time of year, summer’s showers and stormy theatrics might have made you forget you’re in the Chihuahuan Desert. But soon our rainy season will wrap up its act, reminding us how fleeting it really is. For a triops, life is as fleeting as our summer rains. These thumb-sized creatures can be found in ephemeral rain-filled pools in deserts around the world. When their homes dry up, triops die. But during the few months they’re alive, they leave eggs that can ride the wind for hundreds of miles and wait decades to hatch when future rains fall. Who are these unusual animals? And how do they thrive in such precarious and harsh environments?

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Piece Description

Around this time of year, summer’s showers and stormy theatrics might have made you forget you’re in the Chihuahuan Desert. But soon our rainy season will wrap up its act, reminding us how fleeting it really is. For a triops, life is as fleeting as our summer rains. These thumb-sized creatures can be found in ephemeral rain-filled pools in deserts around the world. When their homes dry up, triops die. But during the few months they’re alive, they leave eggs that can ride the wind for hundreds of miles and wait decades to hatch when future rains fall. Who are these unusual animals? And how do they thrive in such precarious and harsh environments?