Horseshoe crab  (Limulus polyphemus)

Authentication

This information is awaiting authentication by a species expert, and will be updated as soon as possible. If you are able to help please contact: arkive@wildscreen.org.uk

Glossary

  • Carapace: the top shell of a turtle. In arthropods (insects, crabs etc), the fused head and thorax (the part of the body located near the head) also known as ‘cephalothorax’.
  • Larvae: stage in an animal’s lifecycle after it hatches from the egg. Larvae are typically very different in appearance to adults; they are able to feed and move around but usually are unable to reproduce.
  • Prosoma: the anterior portion of the body in invertebrates where segmentation is not evident, the head and thorax region of an arthropod.

References

  1. IUCN Red List (January, 2008)
    http://www.iucnredlist.org
  2. Ecological Research and Development Group: The Horseshoe Crab (March, 2004)
    http://www.horseshoecrab.org/
  3. Well, S.M., Pyle, R.M. and Collins, N.M. (1983) The IUCN Invertebrate Red Data Book.IUCN, Gland, Switzerland.
  4. Smithsonian Marine Station (March, 2004)
    http://www.sms.si.edu/irlspec/Limulu_polyph.htm
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