And you don’t even have to clean the bowl

EDITORS: Black and white photo available on request.

ANN ARBOR—The package says it contains “everything you need to grow instant pets.” That’s true. But do you really want to pet a triops, a crustacean that looks like a miniature horseshoe crab, has three eyes on the top of its head, grows quickly to two inches, and sometimes swims upside-down? Known officially as Triops longicaudatus and unofficially as a tadpole shrimp, these creatures that date back to the Triassic Period are available for purchase at the University of Michigan’s Exhibit Museum. The best thing about these “pets,” grown from developing eggs held in suspended animation, is that they like swimming around in murky water. So, you don’t have to clean the bowl. All you have to do to enjoy this remnant of the Age of the Dinosaurs is remember to feed the creature a couple of times a day.

The Exhibit Museum, located at 1109 Geddes Ave., is open Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m., and Sunday, 1-5 p.m. The Museum is closed on major holidays. Admission is free.

U-M News and Information ServicesUniversity of Michigan