Is the Horseshoe Crab Really a Crab?
ALOysius: No, the horseshoe crab is not considered a crab. It’s closest living relative is actually a spider. I tricked you! Now here are the answers to the Picture Quiz. A. This is a Spider crab. Its body or carapace is brownish and is about four inches long. Sometimes algae grows on its shell which changes the crab’s color. Its body has a long forked beak and spines. Attached are long slender legs which give the crab a spider-like appearance. All of these features give the crab a frightening look. How about being a spider crab for Haloween! B. The blue crab is a member of the swimming crab family. It is the only crab with sharp spikes at each side of its body. Actually, the body is green with legs of clear blue which gives the crab its name. Summertime is not complete without fishing for blue crabs in the bay. We love to eat them, so we better watch what these crabs are eating! C. The Horseshoe crab, as we have already found out, is not a “true” crab. It gets its name from the horses
You may have seen the odd-looking creature known as the horseshoe crab washed up on a beach. Its body is covered by an armored shell with pointed barbs, and it has a long tail. But the horseshoe crab is not horseshoe-shaped, and it’s not a real crab either! All real crabs are crustaceans, like lobsters and shrimps. But the horse
