North American Branchiopod Forum

Yesterday in Jefferson County, Kansas- just north of the Kansas River, we found lots of clam, fairy, and tadpole shrimp in a small puddle on a gravel road next to some flooded cropland.

Here is a pic of the puddle.

Not the clearest pic, but you can see a Triops near the center of this photo. The little yellowish flecks are either clam or fairy shrimp.


Here are some other top views.




I thought that maybe because the Triops is so large, they could coexist with the salamander larvae. I was wrong.

Always amazing how they make it in such a small puddle full of muddy water.I wish it would always be that easy in the tank at home.

You know it's really rare to find wild inverts like that here in Michigan. I wonder if it has to do with all our industry here in lower Michigan. Even finding toadpoles is pretty unusual.

I'm going to have to make it a point to find every puddle of water come April 15 and look for inverts.

I think that is a good idea, although it may be easier to wait a couple months. I find that june or july is best, because any puddles that survive that long are most likely to have them. It really hit and miss with the early rains.