Bringing The World Home To You

© 2024 WUNC North Carolina Public Radio
120 Friday Center Dr
Chapel Hill, NC 27517
919.445.9150 | 800.962.9862
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Biologists Discover Carnivorous Fairy Shrimp

Biologists with the Idaho National Guard have discovered a new species of fairy shrimp in the lakebeds of Idaho's desert.

The translucent crustacean, which can grow up to three inches long, can survive hot desert summers and freezing winters in egg form, emerging only when enough rain falls to create pools of water.

"It's kind of like a watery feather with an attitude," says military biologist Dana Quinney. "It's got a lot of little legs that it beats around, and it is constantly searching for things to bite and ingest."

And ingest it does. The shrimp goes after smaller pond dwellers with abandon, snagging its victims -- including its relatives -- with sharp claws and sticking them to the velcro-like surface of its body.

Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Corrected: April 7, 2005 at 4:49 PM EDT
This story says decades had passed since a new species had been discovered in the United States. Many listeners pointed out the inaccuracy. See the April 3 story below for clarification.
Elizabeth Wynne Johnson
Stories From This Author