Atlantic Horseshoe Crab
Limulus polyphemus
Atlantic horseshoe crabs live on shallow sandy and muddy bottoms along the Atlantic coast of North America and the Gulf of Mexico. They crawl along the seafloor feeding on worms, small mollusks, crustaceans, and other buried invertebrates. Adults gather on beaches to spawn, especially during spring high tides. Their copper-based blue blood is famous for clotting around bacterial contamination and has been important in medical safety testing.
- Type
- Shell / Water
- Conservation status
- VU
Growth chain
- Atlantic Horseshoe Crab Trilobite Larva
- Atlantic Horseshoe Crab Juvenile
- Atlantic Horseshoe Crab