The Animal That Can Live for 10,000 Years

We think we know everything about our planet, however, there are still lands that have not been explored. The most interesting thing is that our world is composed of 71% water, which means that there are many things and creatures hiding in the depths of the ocean, waiting for someone to discover them or perhaps hiding from us.

One such creature that was discovered recently is Artemia salina, a type of ancient shrimp that was around 100 million years ago. These aquatic crustaceans live near the bottom of the sea in the oceans and despite their simplicity, they have some wonderful survival abilities that allow them to live for a very long time.

He can live under any conditions

This can also be considered the most adaptive animal as it can live under extreme conditions without being affected. You can try burning them, dumping them in chemicals, or even boiling them above 100 ° C (212 ° F) and they won't die. This amazing creature is so adaptive that it can live in temperatures up to -273 ° C (523 ° F).

The obvious feature is its ability to survive under heavy air pressure due to its living on the ocean floor. Something not clear is the ability of this creature to survive in space!

In 1972 when Apollo 16 was launched into space to test the effects of cosmic rays, astronauts also took Artemia Salina to see if it would survive. Don't imagine this as normal shrimp size, these species are actually very small, with an average of 15 mm.

Easy cloning

Females do not need a male to reproduce as they can immediately lay eggs that will hatch. However, if conditions are unfavorable, in case of extreme temperatures or lack of food, the females give birth to a hard shell containing fully grown larvae that will emerge from the shell when conditions are more favorable.

During the early 1990s, some of those searching for gasoline near Salt Lake Lake drilled and found a set of these hard shells produced by Artemia Salina. When they brought the shells ashore, they hatched but the larvae inside were already adults from expert study.

From further analyzes of the shells, the carbon footprint shows that it is over 10,000 years old, which means that the larvae fully developed indoors waited to reach a more suitable location to hatch. This meant that the caterpillars were able to last longer if not disturbed, perhaps up to another 10,000 years or even 100,000.

Experts also say that the creature, while inside its hard shell, can withstand even severe droughts by as much as 97%. This is when the organism stops and enters a moment of pause, kind of like how a bear goes into winter hibernation, but it's more complicated.

This process is called anhydrobiosis or in simpler terms life without water, which gives the ability for the organism to live almost without water, and this is amazing because water is the essence of our survival, not just humans but everything around us.