Triops Imperator, a freshwater apex predator brachiopod from the late Triassic, is a "Lazarus Taxon," discovered alive in early June 2007, when it began hatching once again in Lake Superior, when liquid fresh water of the right temperature returned to the area for the first time in the historical period.

The Triops genus is well known for the potentially enormous, extremophile encystment period on its eggs in the other, better-known members of Triops that likewise survived into modern times thanks to the ability to "wait out" major periods of extinction.

Unlike smaller Triops, Imperator is not a scavenger but has been observed actively hunting fish even at juvenile stages of only two feet in length. The individual depicted here is a rare male, displaying the larger right-hand claw presumed to play a mate-attracting role similar to that of the fiddler crab.

Little is know about lifespan or adult sizes of Imperator-- at this time it is thought unlikely that the largest specimens currently under observation, at 51 inches in length, represent the maximum size of the species, as it is unlikely that such a large, apex species would have lifespans that did not extend across multiple years.

Imperator is considered a serious threat to human safety, and is the reason for recent swimming bans in Lake Superior. With claw pressures in excess of four hundred pounds per square inch, the spearing appendages of Imperator are thought likely able to break or sever human limbs with relative ease.