Horseshoe Crab
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Publicado: 7 de noviembre de 2012
Horseshoe Crab
HABITAT
Horseshoe Crabs are arthropods (invertebrate) that live primarily in shallow ocean waters on soft sand or muddy bottoms
WHAT IS IT
This is a crab that isn'ta crab! It is distantly related to spiders and scorpions. It is a "living fossil" whose origin dates back to Triassic times, over 200 million years ago, a time when the first dinosaurs and primitivemammals appeared. It is found along the Atlantic coast, spending summers in the shallow coastal waters and winters offshore in the mud. They usually walk along the bottom, feeding on sea worms andyoung clams.
ANATHOMY
It has four eyes - two small, simple eyes up forward and two larger, compound eyes (much like a fly's eyes) on either side of the Shell. The Horseshoe Crab has one pairof feeding legs, four pairs of walking-feeding legs, and one longer pair of walking legs that shove the body forward. A horseshoe crab’s blood has a blue to blue-green color when exposed to the air.The blood is blue because it contains a copper-based respiratory pigment called hemocyanin.
Spawning time is its most visible and vulnerable period. The females come ashore dragging the malesin tandem. They fall prey to capture and needless death. If killed before the thousands of eggs can be laid and deposited in the sand, the population will continue to decrease. Perhaps theseanimals should be protected during the breeding season which occurs during the new moon in May and June.
WHY IS IT ENDANGERED
This ancient animal is in danger of becoming extinct. Humanuses of the horseshoe crab started thousands of years ago with the indigenous people around the world. Horseshoe crabs were historically caught for their shells which was pulverized and used asfertilizers. Today, its numbers are being greatly reduced due to extensive use as eel bait, for blood research, and by fearful people who throw the animal up high on the beach, leaving it to die in the...
HABITAT
Horseshoe Crabs are arthropods (invertebrate) that live primarily in shallow ocean waters on soft sand or muddy bottoms
WHAT IS IT
This is a crab that isn'ta crab! It is distantly related to spiders and scorpions. It is a "living fossil" whose origin dates back to Triassic times, over 200 million years ago, a time when the first dinosaurs and primitivemammals appeared. It is found along the Atlantic coast, spending summers in the shallow coastal waters and winters offshore in the mud. They usually walk along the bottom, feeding on sea worms andyoung clams.
ANATHOMY
It has four eyes - two small, simple eyes up forward and two larger, compound eyes (much like a fly's eyes) on either side of the Shell. The Horseshoe Crab has one pairof feeding legs, four pairs of walking-feeding legs, and one longer pair of walking legs that shove the body forward. A horseshoe crab’s blood has a blue to blue-green color when exposed to the air.The blood is blue because it contains a copper-based respiratory pigment called hemocyanin.
Spawning time is its most visible and vulnerable period. The females come ashore dragging the malesin tandem. They fall prey to capture and needless death. If killed before the thousands of eggs can be laid and deposited in the sand, the population will continue to decrease. Perhaps theseanimals should be protected during the breeding season which occurs during the new moon in May and June.
WHY IS IT ENDANGERED
This ancient animal is in danger of becoming extinct. Humanuses of the horseshoe crab started thousands of years ago with the indigenous people around the world. Horseshoe crabs were historically caught for their shells which was pulverized and used asfertilizers. Today, its numbers are being greatly reduced due to extensive use as eel bait, for blood research, and by fearful people who throw the animal up high on the beach, leaving it to die in the...
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