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What role does the hepatopancreas play in horseshoe crab digestion?
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horseshoe crab
Horseshoe crab (Limulus polyphemus).
In the digestive system of the horseshoe crab, the hepatopancreas serves as a vital organ responsible for secreting digestive enzymes into the long stomach-intestine. This glandular structure functions to facilitate the chemical breakdown of food after it has undergone physical processing in the gizzard.1