Living Fossil

[BOD]

I drove down to Malacca Straits, the evening before work began and I headed down to a mangrove creek to sit quietly and recover from the drive.

http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i154/BOD_photos/animals/DSCN2201.jpg

Then I noticed this fellow in the surf and thought he was dead.

http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i154/BOD_photos/animals/DSCN2199.jpg

After a while I noticed movement

http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i154/BOD_photos/animals/th_horseshoecrab.jpg (http://s71.photobucket.com/albums/i154/BOD_photos/animals/?action=view&current=horseshoecrab.flv)

He just looked at me

http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i154/BOD_photos/animals/DSCN2202.jpg

He didn’t do much so I thought that he was not going to survive but …

http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i154/BOD_photos/animals/th_horseshoecrab2.jpg (http://s71.photobucket.com/albums/i154/BOD_photos/animals/?action=view&current=horseshoecrab2.flv)

Had to bar his way to get him to go back to the sea. Cute little eyes. Not sure how good they are

Two days later I came across a couple which had been turned over.

http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i154/BOD_photos/animals/th_hcrab3.jpg (http://s71.photobucket.com/albums/i154/BOD_photos/animals/?action=view&current=hcrab3.flv)

There was a happy ending

Funny little fellows. Half a billion years old and ancient when the dinosaurs were around

Not all are small though. I handed one to a friend a year ago to hold.

http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i154/BOD_photos/animals/DSCN3628.jpg

Imagine those legs on your tummy!

A local fisherman told me that if you eat too much of the roe you will get dizzy.

More on them and their valuable blood here.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horseshoe_crab

[Beer Monster]

Fascinating stuff BOD. Must admit I've always wanted to see one. I remember studying their compound eyes at Uni.

A few interesting facts I found:-

Horseshoe Crab Facts & Figures

Despite their size and intimidating appearance, horseshoe crabs are not dangerous.
A horseshoe crab's tail, while menacing, is not a weapon. Instead, the tail is used to plow the crab through the sand and muck, to act as a rudder, and to right the crab when it accidentally tips over.

The horseshoe crab's central mouth is surrounded by its legs and while harmless, it is advisable to handle a horseshoe crab with care since you could pinch your fingers between the two parts of its shell while holding it.

Horseshoe crabs have 2 compound eyes on the top of their shells with a range of about 3 feet. The eyes are used for locating mates.

Horseshoe crabs can swim upside down in the open ocean using their dozen legs (most with claws) and a flap hiding nearly 200 flattened gills to propel themselves.

Horseshoe crabs feed mostly at night and burrow for worms and mollusks. They will, however, feed at any time.

Horseshoe crabs grow by molting and emerge 25 percent larger with each molt. After 16 molts (usually between 9 and 12 years) they will be fully grown adults.

Horseshoe crab eggs are important food for migratory shore birds that pass over the Delaware Bay during the spring mating season. Fish also eat the juveniles or recent molts.

In the 1900s, horseshoe crabs were dried for use as fertilizer and poultry food supplements before the advent of artificial fertilizers.

The medical profession uses an extract from the horseshoe crab's blue, copper-based blood called lysate to test the purity of medicines. Certain properties of the shell have also been used to speed blood clotting and to make absorbable sutures.

Link. (http://www.beach-net.com/horseshoe/Bayhorsecrab.html)

[Chopper]

Wow, great stuff.

I did think I was going to find a thread about my Mother in law. :)

[andy_e]

I remember seeing a programme where scientists were extracting blood from them, small amounts from lots of crabs, then releasing them live. Was amazed that their blood was so blue, like a weak copper sulphate solution.

[British Red]

Stunning - your posts like this are great Bod - thank you! I was entranced and learned a lot there!

Red

[Huon]

I've eaten the eggs with a very, very spicy sauce and a feathery leafed wild vegetable as a beer snack. I ate quite a few but I suspect that any dizziness I felt was due more to the beer than the eggs.

It was a good snack though.

Huon

[Galemys]

Fascinating BOD,

Does your friend have a little zoo or is the brahminy kite in the background a pet?

Cheers,

Tom

[BOD]

Well spotted Tom. It broke its wing as a fledgling and and was picked up by a fisherman.

It is a floating fish farm in Brunei Bay actaully. Will do and Out and About thread sometime. Interesting place