what is the color of horseshoe crab blood
blue
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eggs and juveniles collected from the wild are often raised to adulthood in captivity. Horseshoe crabs use hemocyanin to carry oxygen through their blood. Because of the copper present in hemocyanin, their blood is blue. Their blood contains amebocytes, which play a similar role to the white blood cells of vertebrates in defending the organism against pathogens. Amebocytes from the blood of "L. polyphemus" are used to make "Limulus" amebocyte lysate (LAL), which is used for the detection of bacterial endotoxins in medical applications. This means there is a high demand for the blood, the harvest of which involves collecting
Horseshoe crab
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by local fishermen. While the crabs have very little flesh, their roe is prized as a delicacy, in Thailand most commonly served as a salad called "yam khi maeng da" (ยำไข่แมงดา). There have occasionally been cases of food poisonings or even deaths after consuming the crabs as they were misidentified as another horseshoe crab species, "Tachypleus gigas." Unlike larger "T. gigas", "C. rotundicauda" is known to often contain lethal tetradotoxin. In addition, horseshoe crabs are prized for their blue blood, as it is widely used in biomedical sciences for the development of drugs for diseases like mental exhaustion and gastroenteritis.
Mangrove horseshoe crab
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eggs and juveniles collected from the wild are often raised to adulthood in captivity. Horseshoe crabs use hemocyanin to carry oxygen through their blood. Because of the copper present in hemocyanin, their blood is blue. Their blood contains amebocytes, which play a similar role to the white blood cells of vertebrates in defending the organism against pathogens. Amebocytes from the blood of "L. polyphemus" are used to make "Limulus" amebocyte lysate (LAL), which is used for the detection of bacterial endotoxins in medical applications. This means there is a high demand for the blood, the harvest of which involves collecting
Horseshoe crab
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when oxygenated. The blood in the circulation of these creatures, which generally live in cold environments with low oxygen tensions, is grey-white to pale yellow, and it turns dark blue when exposed to the oxygen in the air, as seen when they bleed. Hemocyanin carries oxygen in extracellular fluid, which is in contrast to the intracellular oxygen transport in vertebrates by hemoglobin in red blood cells. The blood of horseshoe crabs contains one type of blood cell, the amebocytes. These play an important role in the defense against pathogens. Amebocytes contain granules with a clotting factor known as coagulogen; this
Atlantic horseshoe crab
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on or near the center of the ommatidium, and always aligned with the path of light. At right angles to the length of the rhabdome are the length of the microvilli, which are in line with each other. The microvilli are about 40–150 nm in diameter. The blood of horseshoe crabs (as well as that of most mollusks, including cephalopods and gastropods) contains the copper-containing protein hemocyanin at concentrations of about 50 g per liter. These creatures do not have hemoglobin (iron-containing protein), which is the basis of oxygen transport in vertebrates. Hemocyanin is colorless when deoxygenated and dark blue
Atlantic horseshoe crab
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of the heart induces the ganglion to fire more regularly and powerfully. The red king crab blood contains leukocytes and the second most common respiratory pigment called hemocyanin. Arthropod hemocyanin is a distinct variation specific to arthropods and is a metalloprotein that uses copper atoms that are bound to its structure. Two copper atoms are needed to bind one O molecule. Because it is a large protein molecule it is found in the blood plasma but is not found in body tissues or muscles. Hemocyanins are named appropriately because when oxygenated their color changes from colorless to blue. Red king
Red king crab
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hazards. Regarding the “blue crabs”, 24 blue crab samples were collected from 11 locations including 12 crab muscle tissue samples, as well as 12 crab hepatopancreas (digestive gland) tissue samples. The EWA’s effort to inform the surrounding community of the Horseshoe Road site was assisted with a Technical Assistance Grant (TAG) granted by the EPA. The Horseshoe Road Complex site was brought to the EPA's attention after over 70 drums of toxic waste were exposed following a brush fire in the early 1980s. The HRC site was recommended to placed on the National Priorities List (NPL) on September 29, 1995.
Horseshoe Road Complex Superfund Site
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perception are related to the light-scattering properties of the skin and the processing of visual input by the visual cortex, rather than the actual color of the venous blood. Skinks in the genus "Prasinohaema" have green blood due to a buildup of the waste product biliverdin. The blood of most mollusks – including cephalopods and gastropods – as well as some arthropods, such as horseshoe crabs, is blue, as it contains the copper-containing protein hemocyanin at concentrations of about 50 grams per liter. Hemocyanin is colorless when deoxygenated and dark blue when oxygenated. The blood in the circulation of these
Blood
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jaws, cranial material, clavicles, limb bones and pelvic bones. Arthropods include Paleolimulus woodae, an extinct horseshoe crab. Contrary to some erroneous reports in the popular press, it is not the world's oldest horseshoe crab (Order Xiphosurida), but is scientifically instead the oldest paleolimulid (Family Paleolimulidae). It is known from two examples found by visitors - including a Grade 4 student. The species name honors Sonja Wood who runs the Blue Beach Museum and has studied the fossils for many years along with her husband Chris Mansky. Trilobites are also rarely found. This is interesting because trilobites are marine, whereas the
Blue Beach
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world contribute to their decline. As a sign of optimism though, oysters are beginning to naturally reappear in the Hudson River after having vanished completely about the time of World War II. Regional industrial overdevelopment and other pollution factors have raised PCB levels in the fish catch and prompted government recommendations against its routine consumption. The bay is crossed by a dredged channel allowing commercial ships to enter the Arthur Kill. Raritan Bay's fish include striped bass, fluke, winter flounder, bluefish, tautog and weakfish. The crustacean species represented include the blue crab, fiddler crab, green crab, horseshoe crab and spider
Raritan Bay
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Chaceon fenneri Chaceon fenneri, commonly known as the golden crab or golden deepsea crab, is one of several species of crab harvested for food by humans. It was formerly called "Geryon fenneri". Like the blue crab, its common name comes from the color of its shell; it is usually cream to tan in color. Both parts of the binomen "Chaceon fenneri" commemorate Fenner A. Chace, Jr. It is found on the ocean floor at depths of in the tropical west Atlantic, ranging from the Gulf of Mexico to Brazil. It cannot swim. The carapace of this large crab measures up
Chaceon fenneri
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to , making the entire animal similar in size to a dinner plate. Its diet includes benthic (bottom-dwelling) organisms like mollusks and worms. Chaceon fenneri Chaceon fenneri, commonly known as the golden crab or golden deepsea crab, is one of several species of crab harvested for food by humans. It was formerly called "Geryon fenneri". Like the blue crab, its common name comes from the color of its shell; it is usually cream to tan in color. Both parts of the binomen "Chaceon fenneri" commemorate Fenner A. Chace, Jr. It is found on the ocean floor at depths of in
Chaceon fenneri
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made using lobster bodies (heads), often including the lobster liver. The hepatopancreas of a crab is also called tomalley, or crab "fat"; in crabs the tomalley is yellow or yellow-green in color. In Maryland and on the Delmarva Peninsula, the hepatopancreas of the blue crab is called the "muster" or "mustard", probably because of the yellow color, which is not the bright yellow of regular prepared yellow mustard, but closer to one of the brown mustards, such as Dijon mustard. Particularly when eating steamed or boiled crabs, it is considered a delicacy. The tomalley in general can be consumed in
Tomalley
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in purple or red spots. Hemigrapsus oregonensis Hemigrapsus oregonensis is a small shore crab of the family Varunidae; it was formerly classified under the family Grapsidae. It is known under several common names, including "yellow shore crab", "hairy shore crab", "green shore crab", "mud-flat crab", and "Oregon shore crab". Despite its name, the body color of this crab can vary. Often, it has a light grey, green or yellow carapace with small blue/black spots and lighter colored legs with similar spots, but it may be red/brown with green spots. The legs with claws (chelipeds) are usually cream/white with no spots.
Hemigrapsus oregonensis
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Hemigrapsus oregonensis Hemigrapsus oregonensis is a small shore crab of the family Varunidae; it was formerly classified under the family Grapsidae. It is known under several common names, including "yellow shore crab", "hairy shore crab", "green shore crab", "mud-flat crab", and "Oregon shore crab". Despite its name, the body color of this crab can vary. Often, it has a light grey, green or yellow carapace with small blue/black spots and lighter colored legs with similar spots, but it may be red/brown with green spots. The legs with claws (chelipeds) are usually cream/white with no spots. This species typically lives in
Hemigrapsus oregonensis
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in the Bight. Summer flounder enter the bay in winter and spring and grow rapidly in the productive waters. The bay supports significant shellfishery for northern quahog and is a major spawning, nursery, and foraging area for blue crab. Other common aquatic species occurring in the backbarrier lagoon systems of Long Island include blue mussel, bay scallop, eastern oyster, horseshoe crab, American eel, spot, Atlantic croaker, northern kingfish, and northern puffer. There are a number of significant trout resources in streams that drain into The Bay. Nine of the twelve verified wild brook trout populations of Long Island occur in
Patchogue Bay
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(LAL) test to detect bacterial endotoxins in pharmaceuticals and to test for several bacterial diseases. Enzymes from horseshoe crab blood are used by astronauts in the International Space Station to test surfaces for unwanted bacteria and fungi. A protein from horseshoe crab blood is also under investigation as a novel antibiotic. LAL is obtained from the animals' blood. Horseshoe crabs are returned to the ocean after bleeding. Studies show the blood volume returns to normal in about a week, though blood cell count can take two to three months to fully rebound. Overall the Atlantic horseshoe crab is recognized as
Atlantic horseshoe crab
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The blood contains a chemical called "Limulus" amoebocyte lysate (LAL) that can be used to detect pathogens and their endotoxins. Mangrove horseshoe crab The mangrove horseshoe crab ("Carcinoscorpius rotundicauda"), also known as the round-tailed horseshoe crab, is a chelicerate arthropod found in tropical marine and brackish waters in India, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, China and Hong Kong. It may also occurs in Sri Lanka, Myanmar and the Philippines, but confirmed records are lacking. Despite their name, horseshoe crabs are more closely related to spiders and scorpions (all are in the subphylum Chelicerata) than to crabs. The mangrove
Mangrove horseshoe crab
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all but end the practice of blood harvesting from horseshoe crabs. Horseshoe crabs are used as bait to fish for eels (mostly in the United States) and whelk, or conch. However, fishing with horseshoe crab was banned indefinitely in New Jersey in 2008 with a moratorium on harvesting to protect the red knot wading bird, which eats the crab's eggs. A moratorium was restricted to male crabs in Delaware, and a permanent moratorium is in effect in South Carolina. The eggs are eaten in parts of Southeast Asia and China. A low horseshoe crab population in the Delaware Bay is
Horseshoe crab
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Devonian, 400 million years ago. However, horseshoe crab preservation in the fossil record is extremely rare and the Atlantic horseshoe crab itself has no fossil record at all. Until recently it was thought that the genus "Limulus" "ranges back only some 20 million years, not 200 million", but the discovery of "Limulus darwini" pushes that date back to at least the late Jurassic, 148 million years ago. Horseshoe crabs are valuable as a species to the medical research community, and in medical testing. The above-mentioned clotting reaction of the animal's blood is used in the widely used "Limulus" amebocyte lysate
Atlantic horseshoe crab
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Limulus amebocyte lysate Limulus amebocyte lysate (LAL) is an aqueous extract of blood cells (amoebocytes) from the Atlantic horseshoe crab, "Limulus polyphemus". LAL reacts with bacterial endotoxin lipopolysaccharide (LPS), which is a membrane component of gram-negative bacteria. This reaction is the basis of the LAL test, which is widely used for the detection and quantification of bacterial endotoxins. Fred Bang reported in 1956 that gram-negative bacteria, even if killed, will cause the blood of the horseshoe crab to turn into a semi-solid mass. It was later recognized that the animal's blood cells, mobile cells called amoebocytes, contain granules with a
Limulus amebocyte lysate
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an ideal choice. However, this method was costly, time consuming, and prompted protests from animals rights advocates. But perhaps the biggest drawback of this test was its inability to quantify the endotoxin level. Currently, one common method for endotoxin detection is the Limulus Amebocyte Lysate (LAL) test. This test is based on Dr. Frederik Bang's observation that horseshoe crab blood forms clots when exposed to endotoxins. Amoebocyte extract from horseshoe crab blood is mixed with a sample suspected of endotoxin contamination, and a reaction is observed if endotoxins are present. The FDA has approved four variations of the LAL test:
Depyrogenation
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spend between one and three days away from the ocean before being returned. Some scientists are skeptical that certain companies return their horseshoe crabs to the ocean at all, instead suspecting them of selling the horseshoe crabs as fishing bait. The harvesting of horseshoe crab blood in the pharmaceutical industry is in decline. In 1986, Kyushu University researchers discovered that the same test could be achieved by using isolated Limulus clotting factor C (rFC), an enzyme found in LAL, as by using LAL itself. Jeak Ling Ding, a National University of Singapore researcher, would go on to patent a process
Horseshoe crab
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horseshoe crab "Limulus polyphemus" is distinct from the remaining extant species of horseshoe crab, relationships within the Asian horseshoe crabs remains uncertain. "T. gigas" has a chromosome number of 2"n" = 28, compared to 26 in "T. tridentatus", 32 in "Carcinoscorpius", and 52 in "Limulus". Tachypleus gigas Tachypleus gigas, commonly known as the Indo-Pacific horseshoe crab, Indonesian horseshoe crab, Indian horseshoe crab, or southern horseshoe crab, is one of the four extant (living) species of horseshoe crab. It is found in coastal water in South and Southeast Asia at depths to . It grows up to about long, including the
Tachypleus gigas
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and bleeding the animals, and then releasing them back into the sea. Most of the animals survive the process; mortality is correlated with both the amount of blood extracted from an individual animal, and the stress experienced during handling and transportation. Estimates of mortality rates following blood harvesting vary from 3–15% to 10–30%. Approximately 500,000 crabs are harvested annually. Bleeding may also prevent female horseshoe crabs from being able to spawn or decrease the number of eggs they are able to lay. Up to 30% of an individual's blood is removed, according to the biomedical industry, and the horseshoe crabs
Horseshoe crab
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Mangrove horseshoe crab The mangrove horseshoe crab ("Carcinoscorpius rotundicauda"), also known as the round-tailed horseshoe crab, is a chelicerate arthropod found in tropical marine and brackish waters in India, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, China and Hong Kong. It may also occurs in Sri Lanka, Myanmar and the Philippines, but confirmed records are lacking. Despite their name, horseshoe crabs are more closely related to spiders and scorpions (all are in the subphylum Chelicerata) than to crabs. The mangrove horseshoe crab is the only species in the genus Carcinoscorpius. There are four extant (living) species of horseshoe crab. The
Mangrove horseshoe crab
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Tachypleus gigas Tachypleus gigas, commonly known as the Indo-Pacific horseshoe crab, Indonesian horseshoe crab, Indian horseshoe crab, or southern horseshoe crab, is one of the four extant (living) species of horseshoe crab. It is found in coastal water in South and Southeast Asia at depths to . It grows up to about long, including the tail, and is covered by a sturdy carapace that is up to about wide. "T. gigas" has a sage-green chitinous exoskeleton. Like other horseshoe crabs, the carapace of "T. gigas" consists of a larger frontal one (the prosoma) and a smaller, spine-edged rear one (the
Tachypleus gigas
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Atlantic horseshoe crab The Atlantic horseshoe crab ("Limulus polyphemus"), also known as the American horseshoe crab, is a species of marine and brackish chelicerate arthropod. Despite their name, horseshoe crabs are more closely related to spiders, ticks, and scorpions than to crabs. This species is found in the Gulf of Mexico and along the Atlantic coast of North America. A main area of annual migration is Delaware Bay. Their eggs were eaten by Native Americans, but today Atlantic horseshoe crabs are caught for use as fishing bait, in biomedicine (especially for "Limulus" amebocyte lysate) and science. They play a major
Atlantic horseshoe crab
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Tachypleus tridentatus Tachypleus tridentatus, commonly known as the Chinese horseshoe crab, Japanese horseshoe crab, or tri-spine horseshoe crab, is a species of horseshoe crab found in Southeast and East Asia, with records from China, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam. It is found in coastal marine and brackish waters, and tolerates colder temperatures than the other Asian horseshoe crabs ("Tachypleus gigas" and "Carcinoscorpius rotundicauda"), although juveniles still need water warmer than to moult. Horseshoe crabs are not crabs at all, but are most closely related to spiders, scorpions and trilobites. The cephalothorax is protected by this
Tachypleus tridentatus
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underway in the spring and summer of 2008, termed projectlimulus.org. Due to the lack of information and knowledge regarding horseshoe crab populations, the management policies lack any abundance of rules and regulations. To implement management policies for the species, more population information needs to be obtained. Since 1994, the populations in the Yucatán Peninsula have been recognized as endangered under Mexican law. They have declined since the 1960s and remaining significant Yucatán populations are mostly within protected areas. Atlantic horseshoe crab The Atlantic horseshoe crab ("Limulus polyphemus"), also known as the American horseshoe crab, is a species of marine and
Atlantic horseshoe crab
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is released outside the cell when bacterial endotoxin is encountered. The resulting coagulation is thought to contain bacterial infections in the animal's semiclosed circulatory system. The Atlantic horseshoe crab is the only extant (living) species of horseshoe crab native to the Americas, although there are other extinct species only known from fossil remains from this region. The other living species of horseshoe crab are restricted to Asia, but all are quite similar in form and behavior. The Asian species are "Tachypleus tridentatus", "Tachypleus gigas" and "Carcinoscorpius rotundicauda". Atlantic horseshoe crabs are found along the Atlantic East Coast of the United
Atlantic horseshoe crab
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role in the local ecosystems, with their eggs providing an important food source for shorebirds, and the juveniles and adults being eaten by sea turtles. The other three extant (living) species in the family Limulidae are also called horseshoe crabs, but they are restricted to Asia. This group of animals is also known as horsefoot, or saucepan. Some people call the horseshoe crab a "helmet crab", but this common name is more frequently applied to a true crab, a malacostracan, of the species "Telmessus cheiragonus". The term "king crab" is sometimes used for horseshoe crabs, but it is more usually
Atlantic horseshoe crab
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hypothesized to endanger the future of the red knot. Red knots, long-distance migratory shorebirds, feed on the protein-rich eggs during their stopovers on the beaches of New Jersey and Delaware. An effort is ongoing to develop adaptive-management plans to regulate horseshoe crab harvests in the bay in a way that protects migrating shorebirds. Development along shorelines is dangerous to horseshoe crab spawning, limiting available space and degrading habitat. Bulkheads can block access to intertidal spawning regions as well. Horseshoe crab Horseshoe crabs are marine and brackish water arthropods of the family Limulidae, suborder Xiphosurida, and order Xiphosura. Their popular name
Horseshoe crab
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leadership of Dr. Sun Yat-sen. In the mangrove in Ha Pak Nai live various species, which is highly conserved by environmentalists. Crabs, for example, Perisesarma bidens, Ilyoplax tansuiensis, Uca arcuata, and Sesarma sinensis are commonly found in the offshore mud flat. Among all crabs found in the Ha Pak Nai area, Horseshoe crab is one of the most highly conserved species. Horseshoe crabs originate from 450 millions years ago; therefore, they are also called as “living fossils”. Because of the copper in their blood, which can be extracted to be applied in detecting bacteria, Horseshoe crabs are highly valued in
Pak Nai
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being once abundant in Taiwan, it is now seldom seen inshore there. The International Union for Conservation of Nature does not have enough available information to make an assessment of its conservation status and has rated it "data deficient". Tachypleus tridentatus Tachypleus tridentatus, commonly known as the Chinese horseshoe crab, Japanese horseshoe crab, or tri-spine horseshoe crab, is a species of horseshoe crab found in Southeast and East Asia, with records from China, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam. It is found in coastal marine and brackish waters, and tolerates colder temperatures than the other Asian
Tachypleus tridentatus
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herbivores, scavengers and detritivores. In the past, Native Americans ate the flesh of horseshoe crabs, and used the tail spines as spear tips and the shells to bail water out of their canoes. More recent attempts to use horseshoe crabs as food for livestock were abandoned when it was found that this gave the meat a bad taste. Horseshoe crab blood contains a clotting agent, "limulus amebocyte lysate", which is used to test antibiotics and kidney machines to ensure that they are free of dangerous bacteria, and to detect spinal meningitis and some cancers. Cooked tarantula spiders are considered a
Chelicerata
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and accelerin was found to be activated Factor V. All mammals have an extremely closely related blood coagulation process, using a combined cellular and serine protease process. In fact, it is possible for any mammalian coagulation factor to "cleave" its equivalent target in any other mammal. The only non-mammalian animal known to use serine proteases for blood coagulation is the horseshoe crab. Coagulation Coagulation (also known as clotting) is the process by which blood changes from a liquid to a gel, forming a blood clot. It potentially results in hemostasis, the cessation of blood loss from a damaged vessel, followed
Coagulation
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are used for propulsion to swim and to exchange respiratory gases. This species occurs only in Asia around the Indo-West Pacific region where the climate is tropical or subtropical. These horseshoe crabs can be found to exist throughout the Southeast Asia region in shallow waters with soft, sandy bottoms or extensive mud flats. The mangrove horseshoe crab is benthopelagic, spending most of its life close to or at the bottom of a body of their brackish, swampy water habitat, such as mangroves. This is the habitat for which it gains its common name: mangrove horseshoe crab. Scientists have studied the
Mangrove horseshoe crab
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of horseshoe crabs, such as the currently threatened Atlantic loggerhead turtle, have also suffered as crab populations diminish. In 1995, the nonprofit Ecological Research and Development Group (ERDG) was founded with the aim of preserving the four remaining species of horseshoe crab. Since its inception, the ERDG has made significant contributions to horseshoe crab conservation. ERDG founder Glenn Gauvry designed a mesh bag for whelk/conch traps, to prevent other species from removing the bait. This has led to a decrease in the amount of bait needed by approximately 50%. In the state of Virginia, these mesh bags are mandatory in
Atlantic horseshoe crab
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for millions of years. Although their physiology has changed over the years, their typical three piece exoskeleton, consisting of a prosoma, opisthosoma, and telson, has remained since the mid-Paleozoic era. Fossils of horseshoe crabs that have been dated to over look almost identical to those species that are still alive today. The long existence of this body plan suggests its success. It is estimated that the American species of horseshoe crab diverged from the three Indo-Pacific species approximately . The basic body plan of a horseshoe crab consists of three parts: the prosoma, the opisthosoma and the tail (telson). The
Mangrove horseshoe crab
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refer to the three small spiny processes on the rear part of the opisthosoma (one spine in the middle above the tail and one on either sider), while other species only have a single spine (in the middle). The tri-spine horseshoe crab is the largest of the living horseshoe crab species. Like the other species, females grow larger than males. The largest females of the tri-spine horseshoe crab can be as much as long, including their tail. On average in Sabah, Malaysia, females are about long, including a tail that is about , and their carapace (prosoma) is about wide.
Tachypleus tridentatus
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polyphemus", the eggs take about two weeks to hatch; shore birds eat many of them before they hatch. The larvae molt six times during the first year. Natural breeding of horseshoe crabs in captivity has proven to be difficult. Some evidence indicates that mating takes place only in the presence of the sand or mud in which the horseshoe crab's eggs were hatched. It is not known with certainty what is in the sand that the crabs can sense or how they sense it. Artificial insemination and induced spawning have been done on a relatively large scale in captivity, and
Horseshoe crab
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as a cluster of photoreceptors on the telson. The horseshoe crab has five additional eyes on top of its shell. Despite having relatively poor eyesight, the animals have the largest rods and cones of any known animal, about 100 times the size of humans', and their eyes are a million times more sensitive to light at night than during the day. The mouth is located in the center of the legs, whose bases are referred to as gnathobases and have the same function as jaws and help grind up food. The horseshoe crab has five pairs of legs for walking,
Horseshoe crab
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is not presently endangered, but harvesting and habitat destruction have reduced its numbers at some locations and caused some concern for this animal's future. Since the 1970s, the horseshoe crab population has been decreasing in some areas, due to several factors, including the use of the crab as bait in eel, whelk and conch trapping. Conservationists have also voiced concerns about the declining population of shorebirds, such as red knots, which rely heavily on the horseshoe crabs' eggs for food during their spring migration. Precipitous declines in the population of the red knots have been observed in recent years. Predators
Atlantic horseshoe crab
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distribution of mangrove horseshoe crabs in Hong Kong specifically. The researchers noted their abundance on the beaches of Hong Kong before the sharp decline in population over the past ten years. In the study, they found an uneven distribution of the horseshoe crabs throughout Hong Kong, with a greater abundance found in the western waters. They predict this unevenness is due to the estuarine hydrography in the western waters, influenced by the Pearl River. They also found that "T. tridentatus" can coexist in the same habitat as the mangrove horseshoe crab. Mangrove horseshoe crabs are selective benthic feeders, feeding mainly
Mangrove horseshoe crab
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vulnerable by the IUCN due primarily to overharvesting and habitat loss. There are, however, significant geographic differences with some populations increasing, some stable and some declining. Early in the 20th century and possibly before, there was the mistaken belief in some areas that horseshoe crabs were destructive to fisheries, folklore held that they used their long spines to drill into some shellfish. Because of this mistaken belief and folklore, bounties were sometimes offered by authorities for them. On Cape Cod in the early 20th century five cents was offered for every dead horseshoe crab turned in. The Atlantic horseshoe crab
Atlantic horseshoe crab
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of the Paleozoic Era (570–248 million years ago) with other primitive arthropods like the trilobites. The four species of horseshoe crab are the only remaining members of the Xiphosura, one of the oldest classes of marine arthropods. The extinct diminutive horseshoe crab, "Lunataspis aurora", from head to tail-tip, has been identified in 445-million-year-old Ordovician strata in Manitoba. Horseshoe crabs are often referred to as living fossils, as they have changed little in the last 445 million years. Forms almost identical to this species were present during the Triassic period 230 million years ago, and similar species were present in the
Atlantic horseshoe crab
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prosoma is the large, dome-shaped frontal part at the carapace. The smaller rear carapace with spines on the edge is the opisthosoma. The rear extension that looks like a spike is the telson, which is commonly described as the tail. Uniquely among the horseshoe crabs, the cross section of the tail is rounded. It is essentially triangular in the other species. The tail is used to turn itself right side up when overturned. The mangrove horseshoe crab is the smallest of the four living species of horseshoe crabs. Like the other species, females grow larger than males. On average in
Mangrove horseshoe crab
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the Atlantic horseshoe crab ("Limulus polyphemus"), is commonly used in a test to detect bacterial endotoxins. In sponges, amebocytes, also known as archaeocytes, are cells found in the mesohyl that can transform into any of the animal's more specialized cell types. In older literature, the term "amebocyte" is sometimes used as a synonym of "phagocyte". In tunicates they are blood cells and use pseudopodia to attack pathogens that enter the blood, transport nutrients, get rid of waste products, and grow/repair the tunica. Amebocyte An amebocyte or amoebocyte () is a mobile cell (moving like an amoeba) in the body of
Amebocyte
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biology, ecology and breeding patterns of "C. rotundicauda" and the two other Asian horseshoe crab species, "Tachypleus gigas" and "Tachypleus tridentatus", have not been as well documented as those of the North American species "Limulus polyphemus". All four extant species of horseshoe crabs are anatomically very similar, but "C. rotundicauda" is considerably smaller than the others and the only species where the cross section of the tail (telson) is rounded instead of essentially triangular. Horseshoe crabs are commonly known by biologists around the world as a living fossil because they have remained practically unchanged in terms of shape and size
Mangrove horseshoe crab
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Horseshoe crab Horseshoe crabs are marine and brackish water arthropods of the family Limulidae, suborder Xiphosurida, and order Xiphosura. Their popular name is actually a misnomer, for they bear little resemblance to horseshoes, and they are not true crabs. Horseshoe crabs live primarily in and around shallow coastal waters on soft sandy or muddy bottoms. They occasionally come onto shore to mate. They are commonly eaten in Asia, and used as fishing bait, in fertilizer and in science (especially "Limulus" amebocyte lysate). In recent years, population declines have occurred as a consequence of coastal habitat destruction and overharvesting. Tetrodotoxin may
Horseshoe crab
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between thrombocytes and immune cells "sensu stricto". As hemostasis is a basic function of thrombocytes in mammals, it also has its uses in possible infection confinement. In case of injury, platelets, together with the coagulation cascade, form the first line of defense by forming a blood clot. Thus, hemostasis and host defense were intertwined in evolution. For example, in the Atlantic horseshoe crab (living fossil estimated to be over 400 million years old), the only blood cell type, the amebocyte, facilitates both the hemostatic function and the encapsulation and phagocytosis of pathogens by means of exocytosis of intracellular granules containing
Platelet
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be present in "Carcinoscorpius rotundicauda". Because of their origin 450 million years ago, horseshoe crabs are considered living fossils. Horseshoe crabs superficially resemble crustaceans but belong to a separate subphylum of the arthropods, Chelicerata, and are closely related to arachnids. Horseshoe crabs are closely related to the extinct eurypterids (sea scorpions), which include some of the largest arthropods to have ever existed, and the two may be sister groups. (Other studies have placed eurypterids closer to the arachnids in a group called Metastomata.) The earliest horseshoe crab fossils are found in strata from the late Ordovician period, roughly 450 million
Horseshoe crab
10722956
crabs migrate from the deeper water to the shallow, muddy areas. Nesting usually follows the cycle of the high tide of the full and new moons. During the mating period, the males will follow and cling to the backs of their potential mates using modified prosomal appendages for long periods of time before the egg-laying has occurred. Horseshoe crab species with low spawning densities and 1:1 sex ratios, such as the mangrove horseshoe crab, are found to be monogamous. In addition, the female does not choose her mate. Males find their female mates with the use of visual and chemoreceptive
Mangrove horseshoe crab
2315711
knot bird population was so significant that extreme measures were needed to ensure a supply of crab eggs when the birds arrived. Harvesting of the crabs was banned in New Jersey March 25, 2008. Every year, about 10% of the horseshoe crab breeding population dies when rough surf flips the creatures onto their backs, a position from which they often cannot right themselves. In response, the ERDG launched a "Just Flip 'Em" campaign, in the hopes that beachgoers will simply turn the crabs back over. A large-scale project to tag and count horseshoe crabs along the North American coast was
Atlantic horseshoe crab
1557264
blood of most mollusks, and some arthropods such as the horseshoe crab. They are second only to hemoglobin in biological popularity of use in oxygen transport. On oxygenation the two copper(I) atoms at the active site are oxidized to copper(II) and the dioxygen molecules are reduced to peroxide, . Chlorocruorin (as the larger carrier erythrocruorin) is an oxygen-binding hemeprotein present in the blood plasma of many annelids, particularly certain marine polychaetes. Oxidation and reduction reactions are not common in organic chemistry as few organic molecules can act as oxidizing or reducing agents. Iron(II), on the other hand, can easily be
Metalloprotein
3947185
years ago. The Limulidae are the only recent family of the order Xiphosura, and contains all four living species of horseshoe crabs: The entire body of the horseshoe crab is protected by a hard carapace. It has two compound lateral eyes, each composed of about 1,000 ommatidia, plus a pair of median eyes that are able to detect both visible light and ultraviolet light, a single endoparietal eye, and a pair of rudimentary lateral eyes on the top. The latter become functional just before the embryo hatches. Also, a pair of ventral eyes is located near the mouth, as well
Horseshoe crab
10722951
Belawan regions in Indonesia where the carapace width of females is about and in males . The largest females of the species may reach up to in length, including the tail. Uncommon for chelicerates, horseshoe crabs have two compound eyes. The main function of these compound eyes is to find a mate. In addition, they have two median eyes, two rudimentary lateral eyes, and an endoparietal eye on their carapace and two ventral eyes located on the underside by the mouth. Scientists believe the two ventral eyes aid in the orientation of the horseshoe crab when swimming. Each individual has
Mangrove horseshoe crab
6425936
and invertebrates, even though different proteins are used throughout the cascades. In the hemolymph, which makes up the fluid in the circulatory system of arthropods, a gel-like fluid surrounds pathogen invaders, similar to the way blood does in other animals. There are various different proteins and mechanisms that are involved in invertebrate clotting. In crustaceans, transglutaminase from blood cells and mobile plasma proteins make up the clotting system, where the transglutaminase polymerizes 210 kDa subunits of a plasma-clotting protein. On the other hand, in the horseshoe crab species clotting system, components of proteolytic cascades are stored as inactive forms in
Innate immune system
2465591
substance. A defined endotoxin reduction rate is a correlation between time and temperature. Based on primary packaging material as syringes or vials, a glass temperature of 250 °C and a holding time of 30 minutes is typical to achieve a reduction of endotoxin levels by a factor of 1000. The standard assay for detecting presence of endotoxin is the Limulus Amebocyte Lysate (LAL) assay, utilizing blood from the Horseshoe crab ("Limulus polyphemus"). Very low levels of LPS can cause coagulation of the limulus lysate due to a powerful amplification through an enzymatic cascade. However, due to the dwindling population of
Lipopolysaccharide
2315684
applied to a group of decapod crustaceans. "Limulus" means "askew" and "polyphemus" refers to the giant in Greek mythology. It is based on the misconception that the animal had a single eye. Former scientific names include "Limulus cyclops", "Xiphosura americana", and "Polyphemus occidentalis". It is the tail that earns this order its name Xiphosura, which derives from the Greek for "sword tail". Studies of microsatellite DNA have revealed several distinct geographic groups in the Atlantic horseshoe crab. While there is extensive mixing between neighbouring populations, primarily due to movements by males, there is little or no mixing between the US
Atlantic horseshoe crab
2315710
whelk/conch fishery. The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission in 2006 considered several conservation options, among them being a two-year ban on harvesting the animals, affecting both Delaware and New Jersey shores of Delaware Bay. In June 2007, Delaware Superior Court Judge Richard Stokes has allowed limited harvesting of 100,000 males. He ruled that while the crab population was seriously depleted by overharvesting through 1998, it has since stabilized, and that this limited take of males will not adversely affect either horseshoe crab or red knot populations. In opposition, Delaware environmental secretary John Hughes concluded that a decline in the red
Atlantic horseshoe crab
2315688
are located in the prosoma. On the underside of the prosoma, six pairs of appendages occur, the first of which (the small pincers or chelicerae) are used to pass food into the mouth, which is located in the middle of the underside of the cephalothorax, between the chelicerae. Although most arthropods have mandibles, the horseshoe crab is jawless. The second pair of appendages, the pedipalps, are used as walking legs; in males they are tipped with 'claspers', which are used during mating to hold onto the female's carapace. The remaining four pairs of appendages are the 'pusher legs', also used
Atlantic horseshoe crab
7386399
injectables and medical devices. Proper endotoxin recovery must be proven before LAL can be used to release product. Since 2003, a synthetic substitute for the LAL test has been commercially available. It is based on the Limulus clotting factor C protein, produced by genetically modified insect gut cells. The adoption of this test was slow, which began to change in 2016 when the European Pharmacopeia listed this test as an accepted bacterial-toxin test. Limulus amebocyte lysate Limulus amebocyte lysate (LAL) is an aqueous extract of blood cells (amoebocytes) from the Atlantic horseshoe crab, "Limulus polyphemus". LAL reacts with bacterial endotoxin
Limulus amebocyte lysate
17627050
him a phantom leg in exchange for information. Balshazaar wants to escape Felix’s universe and never return. He then uses the phantom leg to make a deal with the wazimamoto. They drain Felix of his pocket universe in exchange for the souls of the horseshoe crabs. The horseshoe crabs are first introduced when Vimbai is taking a walk on the beach. She comes across a dead crab lying on the sand. This is when we are informed of her love for these invertebrates and also her love for marine biology. She then finds another dead crab but this time a
The House of Discarded Dreams
2315690
other senses, they have a small chemoreceptor organ that senses smells on the triangular area formed by the exoskeleton beneath the body near the ventral eyes. "Limulus" has been extensively used in research into the physiology of vision. The Nobel prize in Medicine was awarded in 1967 in part for research performed on the horseshoe crab eye. A large compound eye with monochromatic vision is found on each side of the prosoma; it has five simple eyes on the carapace, and two simple eyes on the underside, just in front of the mouth, making a total of nine eyes. The
Atlantic horseshoe crab
10733001
have limited opportunities to disperse widely. Adults move offshore for the winter, hibernating buried in the seabed at depths of around , coming inshore again when the water warms up the following year. As a poikilotherm, this horseshoe crab is much affected by rising seawater temperatures, reacting by burying itself deeply in the sediment and sometimes going into diapause. The tri-spine horseshoe crab are at risk from over-fishing, pollution and the loss of their breeding grounds. Populations have declined for decades, and the species was granted protection in Japan in 1928. In China it has become less common and, from
Tachypleus tridentatus
3947187
swimming, and moving food into the mouth, each with a claw at the tip, except for the last pair. Behind its legs, the horseshoe crab has book gills, which exchange respiratory gases, and are also occasionally used for swimming. As in other arthropods, a true endoskeleton is absent, but the body does have an endoskeletal structure made up of cartilaginous plates that support the book gills. They are more often found on the ocean floor searching for worms and molluscs, which are their main food. They may also feed on crustaceans and even small fish. Females are about 20–30% larger
Horseshoe crab
2375365
is credited with “founding” the science of neurobiology in the mid-1960s at Harvard Medical School and he also initiated instruction in neurobiology at the MBL (Barlow et al., 1993:175-234; 203-234). Albert Szent-Györgyi (Nobel Laureate in 1937) conducted research at the MBL from 1947 to 1986, most significantly on the biochemical nature of muscular contraction. In the 1950s and 1960s, Frederik Bang and Jack Levin at the MBL discovered that the blood of the horseshoe crab clotted when exposed to bacterial endotoxins even in vanishingly small amounts. From this basic research, a reagent, Limulus amoebocyte lysate (LAL), was developed that can
Marine Biological Laboratory
12302832
Purple shore crab The purple shore crab, Hemigrapsus nudus, is a common crab of the family Varunidae. It can be found sheltering under rocks in inter-tidal areas along the west coast of North America, from Alaska to Baja California in Mexico. This crab primarily eats sea lettuce and other green algae, and occasionally scavenges dead animals. A small crab, "H. nudus" reaches sizes of approximately . Its dorsal shell (carapace) is generally a dark purple in color, although it may be olive green or red, with white or cream markings. The color of the legs matches the color of the
Purple shore crab
2315687
and others are smaller, averaging about the size of Florida horseshoe crabs. Horseshoe crabs possess the rare ability to regrow lost limbs, in a manner similar to sea stars. A wide range of marine species become attached to the carapace, including algae, flat worms, mollusks, barnacles, and bryozoans, and horseshoe crabs have been described as 'walking museums' due to the number of organisms they can support. In areas where "Limulus" is common, the shells, exoskeletons or exuviae (molted shells) of horseshoe crabs frequently wash up on beaches, either as whole shells, or as disarticulated pieces. The brain and the heart
Atlantic horseshoe crab
1031900
as many birds stop over to eat the eggs of horseshoe crabs as they lay their eggs on the beaches. Along with Broadkill, Fowler, Kitts Hummock, Pickering, and Primehook beaches, this area is officially designated as a sanctuary for horseshoe crabs, the state marine animal of Delaware and a "signature species" of the Delaware Bay Estuary. Because Slaughter Beach is such an important area for the continued survival of horseshoe crabs and the migrating birds that depend on their eggs, the town has adopted the horseshoe crab as its official town symbol. Slaughter Beach is located at (38.9128903, -75.3040800). According
Slaughter Beach, Delaware
2315685
and isolated Yucatán Peninsula horseshoe crabs, leading some to suggest that a taxonomic review is necessary. Horseshoe crabs have three main parts to the body: the head region, known as the "prosoma", the abdominal region or "opisthosoma", and the spine-like tail or "telson". The smooth shell or carapace is shaped like a horseshoe, and is greenish grey to dark brown in colour. The sexes are similar in appearance, but females are typically 25 to 30% larger than the male in length and width, and can reach more than twice the weight. Females can grow up to in length, including tail,
Atlantic horseshoe crab
12640981
Crab Moon Crab Moon is a children's picture book by Ruth Horowitz and illustrated by Kate Kiesler. It was selected by the National Science Teachers Association as an Outstanding Science Trade Books for Children in 2001. A young child, David, follows his mother to the summer rental and is amazed at horseshoe crabs that emerge to lay their eggs. The next morning, he finds an upside down crab and he places her right-side up. A Kirkus Reviews review says, "Along with books such as Saviour Pirotta's Turtle Bay (1997), this conveys a respectful attitude toward sea- and shore-dwelling wildlife in
Crab Moon
7065767
Species (T.R.A.C.K.S.) group, a subsidiary of the Sea Life Conservation Trust. Sea Life Melbourne Aquarium formerly had a giant squid exhibit (frozen, not alive), which was moved to UnderWater World in Queensland. The Aquarium was also home to angler fish, the Japanese spider crab, jellyfish, blood sucking leeches, horseshoe crabs, venemous scorpions and tarantulas. In 2012, Merlin Entertainments, the global owner and operator of the Sea Life Centres brand as well as iconic brands such as Legoland and Madame Tussauds, purchased the Living and Leisure Group, then the owner-operators of the Melbourne Aquarium. In late 2013, after an extensive $8
Sea Life Melbourne Aquarium
14869769
The adult pubic louse resembles a miniature crab when viewed through a strong magnifying glass. Pubic lice have six legs; their two front legs are very large and look like the pincher claws of a crab - thus the nickname "crabs." Pubic lice are tan to grayish-white in color. Females lay nits and are usually larger than males. To live, lice must feed on blood. If the louse falls off a person, it dies within 1–2 days. Pubic lice ("Pthirus pubis") have three stages: egg, nymph and adult. Eggs (nits) are laid on a hair shaft . Females will lay
Pediculosis pubis
3358477
horseshoe crabs, though the structure of horseshoe crab gills and eurypterid "gills" are remarkably different. In horseshoe crabs, the gills are more complex and composed of many lamellae (plates) which give a larger surface area to be used for gas exchange. Additionally, the gill tract of eurypterids is proportionally much too small to support them if it is analogous to the gills of other groups. In order to be functional gills, the gills would have to have been highly efficient and there would have needed to have been a highly efficient circulatory system. It is, however, considered unlikely that these
Eurypterid
14724944
Curacha Curacha also known as "spanner crab" or "red frog crab" is a local Chavacano name given to "Ranina ranina", commonly found in the waters of Sulu province and Zamboanga and Bataan province. It is known as "Kagang Pamah" in Tausug, ipis dagat in Bataeños. It is a hybrid crustacean, with crossbreed characteristics of a large sea crab and a big spiny lobster. It is a large crab with a red color, which stays the same in color even when cooked. The crab is usually steamed or boiled so its flavor is preserved. Unlike most crabs whose majority of meat
Curacha
14724945
can be found in their claws, the motherlode of the curacha's meat is found in its body. Curacha Curacha also known as "spanner crab" or "red frog crab" is a local Chavacano name given to "Ranina ranina", commonly found in the waters of Sulu province and Zamboanga and Bataan province. It is known as "Kagang Pamah" in Tausug, ipis dagat in Bataeños. It is a hybrid crustacean, with crossbreed characteristics of a large sea crab and a big spiny lobster. It is a large crab with a red color, which stays the same in color even when cooked. The crab
Curacha
2315702
horseshoe crabs grow, they move to deeper waters, where molting continues. Before becoming sexually mature around age 9, they have to shed their shells some 17 times. In the first 2–3 years of their life, the juveniles stay in shallow coastal waters near the breeding beaches. Longevity is difficult to assess, but the average lifespan is thought to be 20–40 years. Research from the University of New Hampshire gives insight into the circadian rhythm of Atlantic horseshoe crabs. For example, several studies have looked into the effect of a circa tidal rhythm on the locomotion of this species. While it
Atlantic horseshoe crab
10722957
signals. Once a mate is found, the female digs a hole and lays the eggs while the male externally fertilizes them. Once the eggs are laid, the male and female head back to the ocean, and the eggs develop on their own. Their eggs are large, and after a couple weeks, the eggs hatch into miniature versions of the adults. Mangrove horseshoe crabs in Singapore breed from August to April. Juveniles grow about 33% bigger each time they moult, and it takes the juveniles about five moults to grow from to adult size. Thousands of the horseshoe crabs are caught
Mangrove horseshoe crab
8864831
Color Me Blood Red Color Me Blood Red is a 1965 splatter film written and directed by Herschell Gordon Lewis about a psychotic painter who murders civilians and uses their blood as red paint. It is the third part of what the director's fans have dubbed "The Blood Trilogy", including "Blood Feast" (1963) and "Two Thousand Maniacs!" (1964). At the Farnsworth Galleries, Farnsworth looks at a painting then takes it outside. He drops it to the ground, saturates it with gasoline and sets it afire. Blood pours out of the canvas as it burns. Artist Adam Sorge stands before a
Color Me Blood Red
17407809
Indian Springs Trace Fossil Natural Area Indian Springs Trace Fossil Natural Area is a 40-acre privately owned site in Fremont County, Colorado. It was designated a National Natural Landmark in 1980. There are 25 types of trace fossils of horseshoe crab, brachiopods, trilobites and pawless armor-plated fish that lived 450 millions years ago in a lagoon. The fossils are set in rock of Harding Formation. It is considered North America's best site of trace fossils because its shows the movement of the ancient animals. Tracks left by the animals walking, swimming and burrowing in what had been a tidal lagoon's
Indian Springs Trace Fossil Natural Area
10732996
single large, horseshoe-shaped plate, and neither it nor the abdomen is visibly segmented. The tail bears a long spike, known as the telson. Like other horseshoe crabs, the carapace of "T. tridentatus" consists of a larger frontal one (the prosoma) and a smaller, spine-edged rear one (the opisthosoma). There are six pairs of prosomal appendages/legs, consisting of a small frontal pair in front of the mouth and five larger walking/pushing legs on either side of the mouth. The book gills are located on the underside of the opisthosoma. Both the common name tri-spine horseshoe crab and the scientific name "tridentatus"
Tachypleus tridentatus
10722955
on insect larvae, small fish, oligochaetes, small crabs and thin-shelled bivalves. Lacking jaws, it grinds up the food with bristles on its legs and places it in its mouth using its chelicerae. The ingested food then enters the cuticle-lined oesophagus and then the proventriculus. The proventriculus is made up of a 'crop' and a 'gizzard'. The crop can expand to fit the ingested food, while the gizzard grinds the food into a 'pulp'. Studies have found that mangrove horseshoe crabs have a strong preference for insect larvae over the other organisms on which it also feeds. In the spring, horseshoe
Mangrove horseshoe crab
1001265
to head and body lice. Adults are found only on the human host and require human blood to survive. If adults are forced off the host, they will die within 24–48 hours without a blood feeding. Symptoms of crab louse infestation in the pubic area include itching, redness and inflammation. These symptoms cause increased blood circulation to the skin of the pubic region creating a blood-rich environment for the crab louse. Pubic lice infestation can also be diagnosed by identifying the presence of nits or eggs on the pubic hair. When clinicans find the crab louse on one family member
Crab louse
927195
Crab Crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, which typically have a very short projecting "tail" (abdomen) ( = short, / = tail), usually entirely hidden under the thorax. They live in all the world's oceans, in fresh water, and on land, are generally covered with a thick exoskeleton and have a single pair of claws. Many other animals with similar names – such as hermit crabs, king crabs, porcelain crabs, horseshoe crabs, and crab lice – are not true crabs. Crabs are generally covered with a thick exoskeleton, composed primarily of highly mineralized chitin, and armed with a
Crab
2315698
Israel and Western Africa are considered releases/escapees of captives. Atlantic horseshoe crabs range from shallow coastal habitats such as lagoons, estuaries and mangrove to depths of more than up to offshore. There are indications that they prefer depths shallower than . The temperature preference varies depending on the population, with the northernmost being the most cold-resistant: In the Great Bay in New Hampshire they show increased activity above and in Delaware Bay they are active above . In contrast, these northern populations do not tolerate as warm temperatures as southern populations of the species. Atlantic horseshoe crabs can be seen
Atlantic horseshoe crab
2315703
has been known for a while that a circadian clock system controls eye sensitivity, scientists discovered a separate clock system for locomotion. When a sample of Atlantic horseshoe crabs were exposed to artificial tidal cycles in the lab, circa tidal rhythms were observed. The study found that light and dark cycles influence locomotion, but not as much as tidal activity. Horseshoe crabs were traditionally grouped with the extinct eurypterids (sea scorpions) as the Merostomata. However, recent studies suggest a relationship between the eurypterids and the arachnids, leaving Xiphosura in the clade Prosomapoda. They may have evolved in the shallow seas
Atlantic horseshoe crab
2169004
of the museum is illuminated at night. One of the designated "20 Sacred Places of Shikoku", areas associated with Kūkai but not part of the 88-temple pilgrimage, this Shingon temple is renowned in Shikoku for its fall foliage. It is located in Tanbara on the eastern side of the Takanawa mountain range. The Saijō area is known for Tachypleus tridentatus, an Asian species of horseshoe crab. This species is known by the common name "helmet crabs" ("kabutogani"). The Tōyo Cultural Center features an exhibit on the crabs and several live specimens on display. A mascot character named "Kabuchan", a horseshoe
Saijō, Ehime
2548479
Rhithropanopeus harrisii Rhithropanopeus harrisii (common names include the "Zuiderzee crab", dwarf crab, estuarine mud crab, Harris mud crab, white-fingered mud crab, and white-tipped mud crab), is a small omnivorous crab native to Atlantic coasts of the Americas, from New Brunswick to Veracruz. "R. harrisii" is usually found in brackish water, but can also be found in freshwater. It likes to live on stones and in oyster beds. The crab can reach a maximum size of . It has an olive-green-brownish color, sometimes with dark spots on its carapace. It is a common inhabitant of Texas and Florida estuaries, but was
Rhithropanopeus harrisii
11133280
legs of the crab. The lumps, or pieces, in the Colossal grade are bigger than those in the Jumbo Lump. The "jumbo lump" grade crab meat comes from larger crabs and is the meat from the two large muscles connected to the swimming legs. Contrary to smaller portions of crab meat, it can be used whole. It has a brilliant white color. The "Lump" grade of crab meat is composed of broken pieces of Jumbo Lump, which are not included in the Jumbo Lump grade pack, and other flake pieces. This grade of crab meat is ideal for crab cakes
Crab meat
5666221
these were the oldest known footprints on land, having been produced in intertidal and supratidal environments during what would now be called Cambrian times. Owen first thought that these trackways were made by tortoises, but new material convinced him that “articulates” (a group that included the arthropods) were responsible. He further suggested a kinship with "Limulus", the modern horseshoe crab. Additional material was collected in Quebec, Ontario, New York and Missouri for the next 150 years without a single fossil of the maker of these traces. Finally, body fossils of potential makers were found in two of the same quarries
Protichnites
2096496
to monitor the populations of the birds concerned. Towards the end of the 19th century, large numbers of red knot were shot for food as they migrated through North America. It is hypothesized that more recently, the birds have become threatened as a result of commercial harvesting of horseshoe crabs in the Delaware Bay which began in the early 1990s. Delaware Bay is a critical stopover point during spring migration; the birds refuel by eating the eggs laid by these crabs (with little else to eat in the Delaware Bay). If horseshoe crab abundance in the Bay is reduced there
Red knot
4794401
If, however, the claw is broken in the wrong place, more blood is lost and the crab's chances of survival are much lower. Each time the crab molts, the new claw grows larger. The crab only molts at night or in night-like conditions due to the crab being extremely vulnerable to predators without the protection of its shell. If the crab is becoming too large for its shell and the sun is up, the crab releases a hormone from a gland located on one of its eye stalks called the x-organ. This hormone prevents the crab from molting from its
Florida stone crab
2315700
In the north, breeding is triggered by a temperature increase, but this is reversed in the Yucatán Peninsula, the southernmost population, where decreasing temperatures stimulate breeding. In Massachusetts, horseshoe crabs spend the winters on the continental shelf and emerge at the shoreline in late spring to spawn, with the males arriving first. The smaller male grabs on to the back of a female with a "boxing glove" like structure on his front claws, often holding on for months at a time. Often several males will hold on to a single female. Females reach the beach at high tide. After the
Atlantic horseshoe crab
2555276
Panopeus herbstii Panopeus herbstii (the "black-fingered mud crab", "black-clawed mud crab", "Atlantic mud crab" or sometimes "common mud crab") is a true crab, belonging to the infraorder Brachyura, and is the largest of the mud crabs. "P. herbstii" is small, growing to about 4 cm, with black-tipped claws of unequal size. "P. herbstii" has a strong exoskeleton, with very thick and strong claws. The shell is a dull gray and brown color. "P. herbstii" is found along the Atlantic coast of North America, from Boston, Massachusetts to Santa Catarina, Brazil and on Bermuda. It is the most common xanthid crab
Panopeus herbstii
14660169
Hepatus epheliticus Hepatus epheliticus, known by various names, including the calico crab (not to be confused with "Ovalipes ocellatus") and Dolly Varden crab, is a species of crab. It lives in shallow water in the western Atlantic Ocean from the Chesapeake Bay to the Dominican Republic. It has a 3 in–wide carapace adorned with large red spots with darker outlines. "H. epheliticus" grows to across the carapace, which is covered in large patches of red color, which may join up into lines or other patterns. The spots are outlined in a darker color; in some crabs, only the darker rings
Hepatus epheliticus
13661412
Himalayan squirrel, fawn-colored mouse, brown-toothed shrew and black rat were identified. Clouded leopard, leopard cat, jungle cat, large Indian civet, masked palm civet, crab-eating mongoose, pangolin, rhesus macaque and yellow-throated marten, were camera trapped in 2010. In 2008, intermediate horseshoe, greater horseshoe and big-eared horseshoe bats were mist netted at the entrance of Nagarjuna cave inside the park. More recently the Himalayan serow has also been recorded here. In the western part of the park, herpetologists encountered Monocled cobra, Himalayan keelback, olive Oriental slender snake, yellow-bellied worm-eating snake, variegated mountain lizard, Oriental garden lizard, many-keeled grass skink, Sikkim skink, black-spined
Shivapuri Nagarjun National Park
16659798
populations. According to the Maria Mitchell Association: The aquarium participates in the annual Nantucket Horseshoe Crab Survey. In early summer, from about May to June, the aquarium observes how many Horseshoe Crabs they can find mating in certain areas of the island. The Maria Mitchell Aquarium sponsors daily collecting trips during the summer that are open to the public (but require a fee). The point of these trips is to not only educate customers, but also to collect a survey of the marine species in Nantucket's waters. The top six most abundant species in Nantucket's waters are as follows: The
Maria Mitchell Aquarium
2096497
may be fewer eggs to feed on which could negatively affect knot survival. In 2003, scientists projected that at its current rate of decline the American subspecies, rufa, might become extinct as early as 2010, but as of April 2011 the subspecies is still extant. In New Jersey, state and local agencies are taking steps to protect these birds by limiting horseshoe crab harvesting and restricting beach access. In Delaware, a two-year ban on the harvesting of horseshoe crabs was enacted but struck down by a judge who cited insufficient evidence to justify the potential disruption to the fishing industry
Red knot