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How many living species of horseshoe crabs are there?
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horseshoe crab
Horseshoe crab (Limulus polyphemus).
There are four living species of horseshoe crabs, which belong to the order Xiphosura.1
These species include:
- American horseshoe crab (Limulus polyphemus), found along the coast of North America.1
- Japanese, or tri-spine, horseshoe crab (Tachypleus tridentatus), found in Asia.1
- Coastal horseshoe crab (T. gigas), found in Asia.1
- Mangrove horseshoe crab (Carcinoscorpius rotundicauda), found in Asia.1
Despite their name, these marine arthropods are not true crabs but are instead related to spiders and scorpions within the subphylum Chelicerata.1