Here’s something to think about. Could a prehistoric creature survive in an underground river? What lies beneath the surface of our Earth just waiting to be discovered?
In Chelyabinsk City, Russia, construction workers noticed movement in the water of a deep foundation ditch, where they’d tapped into an underground river, so the water never evaporated. Intrigued as to what was living in the water, the workers threw some food in the ditch which caused a frenzy of movement in the water. They panicked but somehow managed to get the “creature” out alive. When it tried to bite them they killed it. They said it was five feet long. So, do you have any idea what this creature is? Take a look at the pictures.
Have you seen this prehistoric monster? Look closely – what in the heck is this thing?
Picture © Valera
Picture © Valera
Picture © Valera
Picture © Valera
Picture © Valera
At first I thought it was some weird subspecies of a horseshoe crab. But then after seeing both sides of a horseshoe crab, I changed my mind.
Picture © NOAA
Then I found a picture of a Triop Notostraca and realized that what the men found at this construction site was indeed a prehistoric creature. Scientists believe that the external structure of the Triop hasn’t changed in about two hundred million years and that they are the oldest living animal species on Earth. Triops are similar to horseshoe crabs but they are smaller and have three eyes.They’re also called sheild shrimp or tadpole shrimp. They don’t have antennae like other crustaceans and what appears to be their antennae are their first pair of legs, which are also a sensory organ. When you look at the Triop from underneath, you’ll notice that it has a lot of legs – up to seventy in all.
Picture © MyTriops.com
Picture © MyTriops.com
Triop’s use their three eyes not to see with but to move toward or away from any light in their environment. There are normally more female Triops than male and the eggs can withstand temperatures below freezing up to 180 degrees Fahrenheit. The egg’s shell is so strong it can even be eaten by another animal, digested and defecated and still hatch. This sturdiness of the egg has to be the main reason that they’re the oldest living animal species on Earth. Most Triops have a life cycle between fifty and ninety days. You can raise Triops in your home aquarium too, which brings me to my next thought.
In the pictures of the prehistoric animal found by construction workers, could that have simply been someone taking pictures of their pet Triop? There’s no way that it was five feet long, the shots were just zoomed in to make it appear bigger than it is. What do you think of this prehistoric monster?