1 of 1
Story summary
- U.S. ecologist Prof. Mark Botton of Fordham University says rising sea levels are eroding beach habitat, threatening horseshoe crab spawning areas.
- Horseshoe crabs, arthropods that have existed for about 445 million years, have nine eyes and six leg pairs.
- Horseshoe crabs' copper-based blue blood is harvested for vaccine testing toxins.
- Female horseshoe crabs lay roughly 4,000 eggs in sand at high tide during a full moon, providing food for shorebirds.
