The mysteriousness of the desert...

[Dien Rice]

Dien,

Not stealing your thunder but California has the same critter. I don't know if it is the same shrimp species but you can find it when the rain comes to the Southern California desert. Maybe Southern California and Australia were once connected and global warming dissected them and sent them floating in different directions :D :D :D Just a question...
Hi,

Thanks Tom, I looked it up, and you're right! California (and other places) have a related animal, also called a "shield shrimp"...

Other strange facts...

They breathe through their legs!

They also have a third eye!

It hasn't changed its look for 250 million years (according to the fossil record), so it's called a "living fossil"...

What a weird (yet wonderful) creature... :)

Here's a close-up picture showing its third eye...

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/45/Triops_closeup.jpg/320px-Triops_closeup.jpg

Tadpole Shrimp
http://www.realmonstrosities.com/2011/01/tadpole-shrimp.html

People sell the eggs as pets, kind of like "sea monkeys." You hatch them yourself...

http://www.triops.com
http://www.aquadragons.net

Thanks for the further "heads up," Tom!

Best wishes,

Dien