A man in Lianyungang City, Jiangsu Province, eastern China, discovered a strange three-eyed creature in a pond while taking photographs.
According to the Global Times on July 21, the creature resembles a shrimp. Experts have confirmed that this species has existed for over 200 million years, dating back to the time of the dinosaurs.
Recently, a man named Song from Lianyungang accidentally found this unusual creature while photographing. He told local media: “I really enjoy photography, and while I was taking pictures, I happened to see this animal swimming in the pond.”
This creature is about 2 cm long, with an oval body, a long split tail, and three eyes—two black eyes on the sides and one light-sensitive eye in the middle.
After returning home, Mr. Song researched and found that this creature closely resembles the long-tailed tadpole shrimp (Triops longicaudatus).
Long-tailed Tadpole Shrimp (Triops longicaudatus) – (Photo: GLOBAL TIMES/PINTEREST).
A biology professor at Jiangsu Ocean University confirmed to Jimu News that this creature is an aquatic crustacean known as “hấu trùng” (translated from Chinese), commonly referred to as “long-tailed tadpole shrimp” or “three-eyed dinosaur shrimp”, which has a history of over 200 million years, coexisting with dinosaurs.
Experts state that this species is found in northern, northeastern, eastern, and southern China. They become more prevalent as natural habitats improve.
Experts explain that the lifespan of the long-tailed tadpole shrimp is about 90 days, requiring specific water quality and suitable temperatures to survive. This species primarily feeds on small aquatic organisms.
They also noted that the eggs of the long-tailed tadpole shrimp are highly resilient and can remain dormant for over 20 years. In adverse environmental conditions, these eggs can lie dormant in the soil until the environment improves.
