Triops cancriformis

Triops cancriformis
Triops cancriformis Nauplien
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Branchiopoda
Order: Notostraca
Family: Triopsidae
Genus: Triops
Species:
T. cancriformis
Binomial name
Triops cancriformis
(Bosc, 1801) [1]
The rough range of Triops cancriformis

Triops cancriformis, European tadpole shrimp or tadpole shrimp is a species of tadpole shrimp found in Europe to the Middle East and India.[2]

Due to habitat destruction, many populations have recently been lost across its European range, so, the species is considered endangered in the United Kingdom and in several European countries.[2] In captivity they commonly grow up to 6 centimetres (2.4 in); in the wild they can achieve sizes of 11 cm (4.3 in).[2]

In the UK, there are just two known populations: in a pool and adjacent area in the Caerlaverock Wetlands in Scotland, and a temporary pond in the New Forest.[3] The species is legally protected under Schedule 5 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (as amended).[4]

Fossils from the Upper Triassic (Norian) of Germany, around 237 million years old have been attributed to this species as the subspecies T. cancriformis minor, due to their great similarity to modern day members of the species.[5] However, later research showed that their ontogenetic growth was quite different from the living species, and they were better considered a distinct species, "Notostraca" minor, with an uncertain position within Notostraca.[6] Genetic evidence also indicates that T. cancriformis only diverged from other Triops species around 23.7–49.6 million years ago.[7]

  1. ^ "Triops cancriformis". Integrated Taxonomic Information System.
  2. ^ a b c "Tadpole shrimp - Triops cancriformis". ARKive. Archived from the original on 2008-10-07. Retrieved April 20, 2009.
  3. ^ "Triops, the 300 million year-old living fossil". Planet Earth online. 22 December 2008. Archived from the original on 2009-07-05. Retrieved 22 July 2009.
  4. ^ https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1981/69/schedule/5#commentary-c4954091 [bare URL]
  5. ^ Klaus-Peter Kelber - Triops
  6. ^ Wagner, Philipp; Haug, Joachim T.; Sell, Jürgen; Haug, Carolin (December 2017). "Ontogenetic sequence comparison of extant and fossil tadpole shrimps: no support for the "living fossil" concept". PalZ. 91 (4): 463–472. Bibcode:2017PalZ...91..463W. doi:10.1007/s12542-017-0370-8. ISSN 0031-0220. S2CID 90922613.
  7. ^ Korn, Michael; Rabet, Nicolas; Ghate, Hemant V.; Marrone, Federico; Hundsdoerfer, Anna K. (December 2013). "Molecular phylogeny of the Notostraca". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 69 (3): 1159–1171. Bibcode:2013MolPE..69.1159K. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2013.08.006. hdl:10447/83883. PMID 23973879.