Unusual response of Artemia franciscana embryos to prolonged anoxia

Encysted embryos of the crustacean Artemia franciscana are shown to survive at least 2 years of continuous anoxia, a record unequaled by any other free‐living animal. This result, in conjunction with previous findings, supports the possibility that these embryos are an exception to the generality that a constant flow of free energy is required for eukaryotic cell survival, under ordinary conditions of temperature and water content.