Deep Look
Tadpole Shrimp Are Coming For Your Rice
2021 • E17 Oct 11, 2021 5m
Tadpole shrimp are neither tadpoles nor shrimp. They're time-traveling crustaceans called triops. Their eggs can spend years – even decades – frozen in time, waiting to hatch. When California rice growers flood their fields, they create the perfect conditions for hordes of these ravenous creatures to awaken.