T2W7 R Q15 – Selective High School

Sea Monkeys

Sea-Monkeys are a product invented in the 1950s. They're an artificial breed of brine shrimp. They're creatures that spring to life the second magical dust touches water. They're a cult sensation. But, what are Sea-Monkeys exactly?

15….. And they don't live in the sea. Sea-Monkeys are a hybrid breed of brine shrimp called Artemia NYOS produced in 1957 by Harold von Braunhut. Initially marketed as "Instant Life", Sea-Monkeys are sold in hatching kits as novelty aquarium pets. An instant hit, they remain popular to this day.

The inspiration behind Sea-Monkeys came from a trip to a pet store, according to the Sea-Monkeys website. 16….. – to teach children about nature. This led to him experimenting in his laboratory to find ways to preserve the brine shrimp and then bring them back to life. The method to exactly how these pets achieve this is kept secret for commercial purposes.

The creatures, whose tails remotely resemble those of monkeys, are derived from crustaceans that undergo "cryptobiosis." 17…..

This trait enables Sea-Monkeys' neatest trick: When you buy a packet of Sea-Monkeys, they appear to be lifeless dust. Pour the dust (which is actually brine shrimp eggs) into a tank of purified water, and the Sea-Monkeys hatch, springing to life. 18…..

Sea-Monkeys are born with one eye, and pop out two more upon reaching maturity. They're translucent and breathe through their feathery feet and they chase flashlight beams. But how do they compare to brine shrimp in the wild?

19….. Artemia NYOS are a hybrid of Artemia salina, according to the book Reproductive Biology of Crustaceans, sharing many similarities to those in the wild.

Artemia salina lives in highly salty environments, such as brine pools. 20….. They also occur in many other bodies of water with any salt content, including the intermountain desert region of the western United States.

Choose from the sentences below the one which fits each gap. Click each sentence to select it then click the correct gap (15–20) below. There is one extra sentence which you do not need to use.

They grow steadily over the next few weeks, feeding on a diet of yeast and spirulina.

This means they can enter a state of suspended animation in times of adverse environmental conditions, and stay in that state indefinitely until conditions improve.

They display similar leaflike limbs to Sea-Monkeys, which they beat to move.

Although Sea-Monkeys are not found in nature, other brine shrimp are.

These brine shrimps were collected from Great Salt Lake in Utah.

When von Braunhut saw brine shrimp being used as fish food, he believed they could serve a greater purpose

Despite their name, they are not monkeys.

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Choose from the sentences below the one which fits each gap. Click each sentence to select it then click the correct gap (15–20) below. There is one extra sentence which you do not need to use.