Image of Vernal pool tadpole shrimp

Description:

When we got to Jepson Prairie and Olcott Lake, we walked around, I nerded out about flowers, Tony and his dad looked around and tolerated my frequent dives to the ground, and that was about it. Luckily, we then joined Solano County Land Trust guided tour, and man, was that fortunate. Not only did the docents show us the California Tiger Salamander we had wanted so much to see, but they also had these totally unexpted tadpole shrimp! These are ancient crustaceans that hatch, eat, breed, lay eggs, and die all in the few months between winter rains and summer heat. They're closely related to the triops that some people keep as pets. On top of all that, they're federally endangered, so even if we had known they were there, it would have been illegal for us to dip net for them! The docents had permits, so they were able to collect some to show us. So awesome.