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microrobert
07-15-2014, 04:36 PM
Living fossil found in China

The Tadpole Shrimp, a living fossil unchanged for over 200 million years, has been found in flooded parts of north China

A living fossil has been discovered in north China (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/) after heavy rains created pools of water big enough to allow the creatures to hatch.

The unusual animal is known as a Tadpole Shrimp, and they are over 200 million years old.

They shrimp lives on the bottom of temporary pools and shallow lakes, feeding on microbes and small animals in the water.

Although these plains get less than 40mm of rain a year, the downpour was enough to create the perfect hatching conditions for the eggs, which can survive on a dry river bed for 25 years.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0O9KgIFbg4

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/10964704/Living-fossil-found-in-China.html

LightHouse89
07-15-2014, 04:37 PM
how is it possible a fossil is still living? I find this rather odd.

Felix Volkbein
07-15-2014, 04:56 PM
how is it possible a fossil is still living? I find this rather odd.

It's not literally a fossil. "Living fossil" is a phrase used to describe fauna and flora that have survived millions of years unchanged, often through numerous extinction events.

Two more famous examples are the coelacanth and the tuatara:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coelacanth

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuatara