Triop World Nick Baker Instructions - Interplay

IntroductionWhen you add water to the littlepacket of ‘dirt’ that is includedin this kit you will be launchingthe bizarre life of an ancient littleanimal that has been doing thesame thing rather successfullyfor some 300 million years!Triops (pronounced ‘try –ops’),which are also called Tadpole orShield Shrimps, are creatures thatbiologists often call living fossilsand Triops have truly earned thistitle.They first stepped onto the scenesomewhere in the Triassic period andsince then they have witnessed manylarge and spectacular creatures, includingthe dinosaurs, come and go.The secret of their success is all down tosimplicity, they have become masters ofa habitat that is too tough for many andthat is the temporary pool. These shallowpools and puddles appear after rain and thenvery quickly dry up again. For aquatic animalsthis presents many real challenges. Not only dothe temperatures in these puddles go up anddown, but so do the chemicals in the water andthe amount of oxygen dissolved in it. As if thisdoesn’t make it tough enough these puddles arenot called ‘temporary’ for nothing and some maylast just a matter of a few days before the waterdries up and the ground turns to dust again!How on earth does a delicate creature like aTriop cope with all this? Why does it choosesuch a harsh place to live and where does itgo when the water evaporates? Well with yourTriop World all these questions and more will beanswered and all you need to do is add water...47957 Triop World Instructions.indd 5 19/11/2012 10:16