Photo by Asturnut (Wikimedia)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nSo lets learn a little more about the anatomy and physiology of these unique animals, shall we?\u00a0 For starters, these long-living animals breathe through “book gills” which are little plates found along the abdomen of the Horseshoe Crab.\u00a0 As well, they have that hard, armour plating which apparently protects them from everything.\u00a0 Well, I guess that isn’t true since sharks, sea turtles, some birds and humans have been known to successfully hunt these imitation crabs.<\/p>\n
If you are hoping to catch a glimpse of these ancient animals on your next tropical vacation then you are best to do some night diving.\u00a0 Yep, the Horseshoe Crab is nocturnal.\u00a0 They wait for the night to fall before they head out in search of a yummy supper consisting of sea worms, mollusks and crustaceans.\u00a0 I wonder if they ever get tired of seafood?<\/p>\n
Horseshoe Crab Fast Fact – <\/strong>The Horseshoe Crab uses their long, thin tail to help change their direction while swimming.\u00a0 Similarly, this tail can also help flip them over if they accidentally land on their back.\u00a0 As a result Horseshoe Crabs with a broken tail are more susceptible to predation and dessication.<\/p>\nI hope you enjoyed our 455 million year old Wild Fact.\u00a0 Actually, one last little tidbit so you can actually appreciate how amazing these creatures really are.\u00a0 On average, most animal species become extinct after about 10 million years. Think about that while you go about your day.\u00a0 See you tomorrow.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Welcome to Wild Fact #629!\u00a0 I hope all of you are enjoying your week so far and are looking forward to learning about another amazing animal.\u00a0 Today we are heading to the ocean floor to see if we can find a Horseshoe Crab.\u00a0 Don’t let the name trick you though as this animal is neither a horseshoe or a real crab.\u00a0 Although they may resemble your common crustacean (i.e. lobster, crab, etc) they actually belong to a separate sub-phylum (fancy taxonomy way of saying the Horseshoe Crab is not in the same category as crustaceans).\u00a0 As a result they are <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3877,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4024],"tags":[348,1599,1597,1600,1598,1601,4025],"yoast_head":"\n
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