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Limulus - Species in
Limulidae - - Classification -
- Limulidae
- Xiphosura
- Merostomata
- Chordata
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Limulus polyphemus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Horseshoe crab| Native range | All suitable habitat | Point map | Year 2050 |
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| This map was computer-generated and has not yet been reviewed. |
| Limulus polyphemus AquaMaps Data sources: GBIF OBIS |
Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | CoL | ITIS | WoRMS
Merostomata | Xiphosura | Limulidae
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology
Benthic; depth range 3 - 11 m (Ref. 76). Tropical, preferred 24°C (Ref. 107945)
Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Introductions
Western Atlantic: from Maine, USA to Mexico.
Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ? range ? - ? cm Max length : 60.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 82); max. published weight: 1.8 kg (Ref. 82); max. reported age: 20 years (Ref. 99652)
The males are approximately 1/3 the size of the females (sexual dimorphism) (Ref. 83). Lives in shallow waters, with sandy or muddy bottoms (Ref. 76). Found in intertidal and offshore areas (Ref. 1131). The horseshoe crab feeds at night on polychaete worms such as Cerebratulus, Nereis, and Cistenides (Ref. 76, 77), small mollusks, and seaweed (algae) found in the sandy ocean bottom (Ref. 76). Food is picked up by the chelicerae and passed back to the bristle bases, where it is "chewed." The food is then moved forward to the mouth (Ref. 75). It digs its food from sediments, grasping the prey with its legs. The prey is moved to the gnathobases where it is crushed before being pushed forward toward the mouth (Ref. 77). A life span of about 20 to 40 years (Ref. 78). Its predators are loggerhead turtles, pufferfish, leopard sharks and sea gulls (Ref. 82).
Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
They reproduce with the use of the first pair of the six, flap-like appendages on the underside of the abdomen acts as a cover for the genital pore. The egg or sperm are released through this pore during spawning (Ref. 75). These eggs are fertilized by sperm released by an attached male and by one or more satellite males that typically congregate around the nesting pair (Ref. 81). While nesting, females bury themselves in the sediment near the water's edge and lay a series of discrete egg clusters, each containing 2,000-20,000 eggs (Ref. 80).
Main reference
References | Coordinator | Collaborators
Lee, C.N. and B. Morton. 2005. (Ref. 1131)
IUCN Red List Status
(Ref. 130435: Version 2024-2)
Vulnerable (VU) (A3bd); Date assessed: 17 February 2016
CITES status (Ref. 108899)
Not Evaluated
CMS (Ref. 116361)
Not Evaluated
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Fisheries: commercial
FAO - Fisheries: landings | FIRMS (Stock assessments) | FishSource | Sea Around Us
Tools
More information
Trophic Ecology
Ecology
Population dynamics
Growth
Max. ages / sizes
Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
Length-frequencies
Mass conversion
Abundance
Max. ages / sizes
Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
Length-frequencies
Mass conversion
Abundance
Life cycle
Distribution
Physiology
Oxygen consumption
Human Related
Stamps, coins, misc.
Outreach
Taxonomy
References
Internet sources
BHL | BOLD Systems | CISTI | DiscoverLife | FAO(Fisheries: ; publication : search) | Fishipedia | GenBank (genome, nucleotide) | GloBI | Gomexsi | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | PubMed | Tree of Life | Wikipedia (Go, Search) | Zoological Record
Estimates based on models
Preferred temperature
(Ref. 115969): 12.5 - 28, mean 26.7 (based on 417 cells).
Climate Vulnerability
(Ref. 125649):
High to very high vulnerability (75 of 100).
Nutrients : Calcium = 126 [75, 177] mg/100g; Iron = 4.79 [1.67, 7.92] mg/100g; Protein = 16.6 [15.4, 17.8] %; Omega3 = 0.331 [0.263, 0.400] g/100g; Selenium = 57.8 [48.5, 67.2] μg/100g; VitaminA = 0 μg/100g; Zinc = 1.97 [0.92, 3.02] mg/100g (wet weight); based on nutrient studies.