Fairy Shrimp

A critically endangered crustacean, about 30 mm in size, which requires (as a so-called “obligate species”) a habitat that has become extremely rare: desiccating ponds within the alluvial plain of broader lowland rivers, known as “vernal pools”. During the first days of spring, at temperatures of around 5°C, larvae hatch from the eggs (which critically depend on the cycle of drying and freezing in the temporary vernal pools) and mature within a few weeks. They feed on microscopic algae and bacteria. Their lifespan is brief; the depositing of eggs is followed by generational death.