TheStygobromus allegheniensisis full of mystery . find in caves throughout the northeast United States , the tiny shrimp has no eye but is still able to detect Light Within . It ’s seldom found in extremely stale venue , and yet it has evolved with the ability to survive being frozen in a substantial block of ice .
New Scientistreports thatS. allegheniensisare ordinarily found in limestone cave , which maintain a relatively stable temperature throughout the year . As such , cave biologist Luis Espinasa was surprised when he stumble upon the diminutive half-pint in the ice caves of Shawangunk Ridge in the mid - Hudson Valley part of New York during a tramp trip years ago . fascinate by the unusual crustacean , Espinasa wonder how it could come through in the freeze caves , whose walls and story are often cover in solid ice during the winter .
“ Cave dwellers are typically not adapted to freezing , ” Espinasa toldNew Scientist . And yet , the half-pint seemed to thrive in the Shawangunk cave .
Espinasa lead off studying the creatures , screen their reactions to freezing temperatures . He found they could survive being frozen in solid ice , both at the cave and in the lab , for several hours ( hisresearchwas published in the journalSubterranean Biology ) . He hypothesizes that the runt can in all probability survive in ice for much longer durations when their bodies are given metre to acclimatise , as in innate conditions . Espinasa believe the peewee may be able to more in effect prepare themselves by take their bodies with the chemical substance needed to keep their cells from turning to ice .
More research is involve to ascertain precisely how the shrimp manage to survive , but it ’s clear they ’re impressively tough lilliputian animate being . discipline out the picture above to seeS. allegheniensisget stop dead in a blockage of ice , and come out whole , like a tiny crustaceanDavid Blaine .
[ h / tNew Scientist ]
standard image credit : Jordi Espinasa , YouTube
