Encysted embryos of the crustacean Artemia franciscana are shown to su
rvive at least 2 years of continuous anoxia, a record unequaled by any
other free-living animal. This result, in conjunction with previous f
indings, 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. (C) 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.