Triops longicaudatus Source: Pinterest

A man in Lianyungang, a port city in East China's Jiangsu Province, has found a shrimp-like creature with three eyes in a pond that experts have confirmed that the species has existed for more than 200 million years, putting it in the same time period as dinosaurs.

These strange creatures were accidentally discovered when the he was taking pictures, the man surnamed Song from Lianyungang told media, "I am very interested in photography, and I was taking a picture when I happened to see this kind of insect swimming in the water in the pond."

This serendipitously discovered creature has an oval dorsal shell, a long forked tail and three eyes, with black compound eyes on both sides and a white light-sensitive eye in the middle.

Song said he went home and checked for information, and found that the creature looked very similar to the Triops longicaudatus, a dinosaur contemporary.

Experts said that the species is widely found in northern, northeastern, eastern and southern China, and is becoming more widespread as its natural habitat and growing environment improves.

The survival period of Triops longicaudatus is about 90 days, and it requires a certain water quality and specific temperature to survive, experts explained, noting that it mainly feeds on catching small aquatic organisms.

Experts also noted that the eggs of Triops longicaudatus have strong vitality and can survive dormancy for more than 20 years. In case of environmental deterioration, its eggs can lie dormant in the soil and organic debris until circumstances have improved.

Global Times