Estimated read time: Less than a minute
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
ST. GEORGE — "Life finds a way," Dr. Ian Malcolm argued in "Jurassic Park," and so it holds true for the aquatic creatures living in southern Utah's seasonal pools.
Throughout the region, hikers may see depressions or water pockets in sandstone called potholes, such as those in Zion National Park or Snow Canyon's petrified sand dunes. Snow Canyon State Park lead ranger Josey Gardner said visitors should not walk in them even when dry to avoid crushing eggs as they seasonally fill with water and spring to life.
Fairy shrimp and triops, a type of tadpole shrimp, are just two animals that might be spotted in ephemeral ponds, Gardner told St. George News.
"They're just waiting for water in order to come back to life," she said.
These small, ancient-looking creatures are branchiopods, a class of crustaceans that also includes brine shrimp, water fleas and clam shrimp.
A swarm of fairy shrimp was found in deep tire tracks near Duck Creek, where they laid eggs. In Arizona, Dorreen Dickinson said she found triops swimming in a small pothole while hiking at The Wave.
