With more wet weather on the way, Aussies travelling through the outback have been urged to keep an eye out for emerging shield shrimp. Source: Peter Cole/Supplied

Aussies have been urged to be careful when driving through the country’s outback amid concerns recent wet weather has awoken an unusual creature hiding deep underground.

Earlier this month, heavy rainfall swept across the country’s dusty red centre, bringing much-needed relief to drought-stricken South Australia, and drenching areas of western Queensland that are still recovering from heavy flooding in March.

With more wild weather sweeping the nation this week, one man has reminded travellers passing through the outback to be aware of shield shrimp emerging from the ground. “Keep an eye out for these in the puddles along the road,” Peter Cole said online alongside a photo of one of the small desert crustaceans in the palm of his hand.

Speaking to Yahoo News, Peter said he had never seen a shield shrimp before he stumbled upon an “abundance” of the creatures in puddles on a road just north of Tibooburra, a town in the far northwest of NSW, while travelling in 2021.

“We pulled into Tibooburra Pub and showed a few locals the photo, one old bushy who had lived there for 50 years said he had never seen one.”

Shield shrimp are widespread across inland Australia. Their eggs can remain dormant underground for years. Source: Peter Cole/iNaturalist Australia/andamooka

What are shield shrimp?

Shield Shrimp belong to a group of crustaceans called “branchiopods”, which literally means “gill feet”, Dr Marissa McNamara, Collection Manager of Crustacea at Queensland Museum, told Yahoo.

The creatures, which are widespread across inland Australia, have leaf-life, lobed feet, each bearing a gill plate that allows them to breathe, she explained, adding their shield protects the head and frontal portion of their multi-segmented bodies.

“Females carry their eggs under the body; these are highly resistant to drying out, and they can survive for many years in the desert clay before hatching,” Dr McNamara said.

“The eggs need water to hatch — the larvae then grow into adults and lay their own eggs very quickly, before the water dries up. The eggs can remain viable for at least several years, and perhaps more (definitive data on the maximum timespan is unavailable).”

Shield shrimp specimens today look similar to those that lived over 300 million-years-ago. Source: Facebook/Julie-Anne McLean/Morgan Hughes

They are sometimes referred to as “living fossils”. “Specimens today look similar to shield shrimp that lived over 300 million years ago. They also live in the desert, which is an unusual habitat for crustaceans,” Dr McNamara told Yahoo.

Only one species is currently recognised in Australia — Triops australiensis — however recent research has found evidence that there may be at least 17 more species in this genus.

Numerous thrilled Aussies have inundated Peter’s post with stories of their own sightings, including one man who claimed he once found shield shrimp in puddles on top of Uluru. Others said the crustaceans “fascinated” them as a child.

Several people also shared photos and pictures of their own encounters in recent years. “I saw one of these in a ‘dry lake’ that had filled with rain last winter in the Goldfields! I thought it was some kind of unusual tadpole and tried searching for it,” one woman wrote.

“I used to live in outback NSW and after every rain we would find them in the puddles,” someone else said.

“Yeah, I’ve seen them up near Cockburn after a massive rain, they freaked me out, weird looking things,” a third person added.

With the Bureau of Meteorology’s climate outlook predicting above-average rainfall west of the Great Dividing Range over the next few months, many more may still have a chance to catch a glimpse of a shield shrimp — but they should refrain from touching it.

“It’s best to leave shield shrimp undisturbed, especially given evidence that there are many unique species with restricted distributions, rather than one widespread Australian species,” Dr McNamara said.

This article originally appeared on Yahoo News Australia at https://au.news.yahoo.com/plea-to-aussie-drivers-as-rainfall-awakens-living-fossils-hiding-underground-212717684.html