MAF seizes primary school pupil's science project

Biosecurity officials have seized prehistoric crustaceans raised in class by a primary school pupil from eggs posted from overseas.

The 6-year old boy, at a Warkworth primary school, was sent the eggs as a gift from an aunt.

The "tadpole shrimp" or triops were bigger than the similar "sea monkeys" marketed to children.

An organism dating back 200 million years, the triops hatch in fresh water then double in size daily, to a length of 90mm and live about three months.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries says they cannot be legally imported because they are classified as a new organism.