Sunday, August 5, 2012

Tachypleus gigas

Coastal Horseshoe crab
Scientific classification
Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Arthropoda
Class:Merostomata
Order:Xiphosura
Family:Limulidae
Genus:Tachypleus
Species:T. gigas
Binomial name
Tachypleus gigas
(Müller, 1785)
Despite its name of horseshoe crab, it is more closely related to spiders, ticks, and scorpions than to crabs.

Despite its threatening...? CUTE!! appearance, the horseshoe crab is harmless, and its long, spike-like tail is not poisonous, as many people think. It uses its tail to plow itself through the sand and muck and also as a lever to right itself when it has been overturned by a wave or a thoughtless person:D


The horseshoe crab's blood is BLUE:O It is because of a chemical reaction between copper and an oxygen-carrying protein called hemocyanin.

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