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The Horseshoe Crab: A Brochure1
Jami McLaughlin, Frans Lanting, David Griffis, Martin Main2Abstract
The American horseshoe crab (Limulus polyphemus) is an important component of Florida's coastal environment. This unusual looking animal is poorly understood and often feared by people as potentially dangerous. Consequently, horseshoe crabs are sometimes killed or otherwise mistreated. People can aid horseshoe crabs that have been flipped upside-down by turning them over onto their legs. A brochure concerning the ecology and conservation of the American horseshoe crab can be printed as a PDF file from this document. Select the PDF printer friendly version to print the brochure, which is appropriate for increasing knowledge about and appreciation for this unusual and ecologically important sea creature. For more information about the Florida Master Naturalist Program, please visit www.masternaturalist.ifas.ufl.edu.
Footnotes
1. This brochure was developed as a product of the Florida Master Naturalist Program and reviewed by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission, Florida Marine Research Institute. This document is Fact Sheet WEC 182, one of a series of the Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida. Publication date: September 2004. Please visit the EDIS Web site at http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu.2. Jami McLaughlin and Frans Lanting are graduates of the Florida Master Naturalist Program (FMNP) Coastal Systems Module; David Griffis is a Volusia County Extension agent and FMNP Instructor, Volusia County, FL; and Martin B. Main is Associate Professor and FMNP Program Leader, Dept. of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, University of Florida/ IFAS, Gainesville, FL 32611.
The Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) is an Equal Opportunity Institution authorized to provide research, educational information and other services only to individuals and institutions that function with non-discrimination with respect to race, creed, color, religion, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, political opinions or affiliations. For more information on obtaining other extension publications, contact your county Cooperative Extension service.
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Cooperative Extension Service, University of Florida, IFAS, Florida A. & M. University Cooperative Extension Program, and Boards of County Commissioners Cooperating. Larry Arrington, Dean.
Copyright Information
This document is copyrighted by the University of Florida, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) for the people of the State of Florida. UF/IFAS retains all rights under all conventions, but permits free reproduction by all agents and offices of the Cooperative Extension Service and the people of the State of Florida. Permission is granted to others to use these materials in part or in full for educational purposes, provided that full credit is given to the UF/IFAS, citing the publication, its source, and date of publication.