i need information on the Horseshoe crab?

Question

i need information on the occurrence, mode of nutrition, respiration, reproduction and locomotion of the horseshoe crab.
Also, if there is any specific feature of the organism,.
Either you tell me a site where i can find it or the information itself.

Answer 1

They are arachnids, not crustaceans. Easy to find on the Indian Ocean shores. Dead animals eaters. Breath using gills, two sexed animals, egg layers, free swimmers. Outstanding feature: their blood is used as a reactive in a positive detection of human encephalitis.

more info: Barnes book of invertebrates

Answer 2

The horseshoe crab (Limulus polyphemus) is a chelicerate arthropod, therefore it is more closely related to spiders and scorpions than crabs. They are most commonly found in the Gulf of Mexico and along the northern Atlantic coast of North America. A main area of annual migration is the Delaware Bay. A Japanese variant (Tachypleus tridentatus) is found in the Seto Inland Sea, but is considered an endangered species because of loss of habitat. They can grow up to 20 inches (51 cm), on a diet of mollusks, annelid worms, and other invertebrates. They find these prey under the sand, where they spend most of their lives. In captivity, its diet should be supplemented with meaty items such as pieces of squid and shrimp (Foster and Smith, 2004). Its mouth is located in the middle of the underside of the cephalothorax. A pair of pincers (chelicerae) for seizing food are found on each side of the mouth.

Answer 3

Horseshoe crabs possess five pairs of book gills located just behind their appendages that allow them to breathe underwater, and can also allow them to breathe on land for short periods of time, provided the lungs remain moist. The outer shell of these animals consists of three parts. The carapace is the smooth frontmost part of the crab which contains the eyes, the walking legs, the chelicera (pincers), the mouth, the brain, and the heart. The abdomen is the middle portion where the gills are attached as well as the genital operculum. The last section is the "telson" (caudal spine) which is used to flip itself over if stuck upside down.

Answer 4

Horseshoe crabs, common along the Delaware coast, have evolved little in the last 250 million years. Still, they have survived because of their hard, curved shells, which have made it difficult for predators to overturn them and expose their soft, vulnerable underbellies. The horseshoe crab has also survived because it can go a year

The Delaware Bay region is home to the largest population of the American horseshoe crab (Limulus polyphemus), which is found along the western shores of the Atlantic Ocean from Maine to the Yucatan. Another three species live in the coastal waters from Japan to Indonesia.

Once called "Horsefoot Crabs" because of the resemblance of its shell to a horse hoof, the Horseshoe Crab isn't really a crab. Related to scorpions, ticks and land spiders, horseshoe crabs have their own classification (Class Merostomata).

Answer 5

The horseshoe crab is referred to as the "Limulus" by biologists. There is plenty of info on this creature. Typing Limulus in google gave me this site as the first option:

http://www.mbl.edu/animals/Limulus/

Answer 6

This is not my area, but I am originally from New Jersey, and they are all over in the ocean. You will be walking in the water at the beach, and they touch your feet when you swim--super creepy.

I know they are one of the oldest creatures on earth; totally prehistoric.