Triops australiensis
{{Short description|Species of small freshwater animal}}
{{Italic title}}
{{Speciesbox
| name = Triops australiensis
| image = Triops australiensis 2.jpg
| taxon = Triops australiensis
|image2 = Triops australiensis (video).webm
|image2_caption = Crustaceans Triops australiensis (shield shrimps) in aquarium
| authority = (Spencer and Hall, 1895)
| range_map = T aust.PNG
| range_map_caption = The range of Triops australiensis
}}
Triops australiensis, sometimes referred to as a shield shrimp,{{cite web | url=http://www.qm.qld.gov.au/Find+out+about/Animals+of+Queensland/Crustaceans/Common+freshwater+and+terrestrial+crustaceans/Shield+Shrimp | title=Shield Shrimp | publisher=Queensland Museum | date=2010–2013 | access-date=2013-06-13}} is an Australian species of the tadpole shrimp Triops.
Distribution
Triops australiensis has a wide distribution across Australia, excluding the northernmost parts of Western Australia, and Queensland.{{cite journal |author=Michael J. Tyler |author2=Margaret Davies |author3=Graeme F. Watson |author4=David J. Williams |name-list-style=amp |year=1996 |title=Significant extension in northern Australia of the known geographic range of the Shield Shrimp Triops australiensis (Crustacea: Notostraca) |journal=Hydrobiologia |volume=318 |issue=3 |pages=135–137 |doi=10.1007/BF00016675|s2cid=33070845 }} It is also absent from Tasmania in the south, where it is replaced by Lepidurus apus.{{cite journal |author=W. D. Williams |year=1968 |title=The distribution of Triops and Lepidurus (Branchiopoda) in Australia |journal=Crustaceana |volume=14 |issue=2 |pages=119–126 |doi=10.1163/156854068X00476 |url=http://www.triops.es/articulos/paper2.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100921224806/http://www.triops.es/articulos/paper2.pdf |archive-date=2010-09-21 }} The two species can be distinguished by the presence of a supra-anal plate between the caudal rami at the end of the abdomen in L. apus, which is lacking in T. australiensis.{{cite book |author=William David Williams |year=1980 |title=Australian freshwater life: the invertebrates of Australian inland waters |edition=2nd |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |isbn=978-0-333-29894-7 |chapter=Arachnids and Crustaceans |pages=118–184 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2qqrV5WaJ4sC&pg=PA129}}
Biology
T. australiensis inhabits temporary pools of water in the arid regions of the Australian outback. When desiccated pools fill with water, the resting eggs hatch into nauplii, and rapidly develop to adulthood. Reproduction succeeds within a few weeks of hatching.{{cite book |author=Donald Thomas Anderson |year=1996 |title=Atlas of Invertebrate Anatomy |publisher=University of New South Wales Press |isbn=978-0-86840-207-9 |chapter=Phylum Crustacea |pages=26–28 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lZaXdYuN8IIC&pg=PA26}} Adults achieve a maximum size of around {{convert|3|in|cm}}, which is considered large for a tadpole shrimp.
Water chemistry
Triops australiensis can tolerate a pH of 7–9, and can live in both hard and soft water, but the eggs of T. australiensis are more likely to hatch in water with a low mineral content.
References
{{Reflist|32em}}
External links
- {{Commons category-inline|Triops australiensis|Triops australiensis}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q3313727}}
Category:Freshwater crustaceans of Australia
Category:Endemic fauna of Australia