Horseshoe Crab
Limulidae
Cesar Rodriguez period 3
Habitat
The young horseshoe crabs can be found offshore on the sandy ocean floor of tidal flats. Adult horseshoe crabs feed deeper in the ocean (high tide) until they return to the beach to spawn (sandy beach). Can bee seen along the east and gulf coast of USA and Mexico.
Daily Changes
- WAVE ACTION Flipped on their backs as the tide goes out or by big waves.
- DESICCATION exposed to extreme heat if their flipped , the sun will dry out their gills.
Special Body Adaptations
Their blood is blue which coagulates when it encounters bacteria , they can 'wall up' any wounds.
Food Source
Horse Shoe Crabs like to dine on worms and clams.
How does it eat
It uses its chelicera and the sensitive bristles on its legs to feel for food under the muck.
Predators
- Loggerhead turtles
- Sharks
- Humans ( used as eel bait and conch)
How does it move
Horse Shoe Crabs have four pair of walking and feeding legs and one pair of longer walking legs in the back , that push it forward.
Citations
- NWF, Initials. N.p.. Web. 10 Mar 2014. <http://www.nwf.org/Wildlife/Wildlife-Library/Invertebrates/Horseshoe-Crab.asp&xgt;.
- Natural History Museum, . N.p.. Web. 10 Mar 2014. <http://www.nhm.ac.uk/about-us/news/2012/january/horseshoe-crabs-are-one-of-natures-great-survivors107816.html>.
unusual facts
The horse shoe crab has blue blood