Horseshoe Crab- Marine Living Fossil

GS Paper III Environment and Ecology

Context:

Recently,Environmental groups petitioned the U.S. government seeking protection for the American horseshoe crab, a “living fossil”.

These are Marine and brackish water arthropods belonging to the Limulidae family.
Ancient Origins : Thrived for over 450 million years, predating dinosaurs.
Appearance:
- It resembles prehistoric crabs, but closer relatives are scorpions and spiders.
Habitat : They prefer shallow coastal waters with soft sandy or muddy bottoms.
- Spawning: They migrate to intertidal beaches for spawning, primarily during summer-spring high tides.
  - This timing ensures their eggs are deposited in moist sand, essential for development.

Horseshoe Crab

Concerns with their Medical Use :

Pharmaceutical companies reap horseshoe crabs in large numbers for their bright blue blood which contains a special clotting agent limulus amebocyte lysate (LAL) which detects a contaminant called endotoxin.
- It is used to test vaccines, drugs and medical devices to ensure that they aren’t contaminated with dangerous bacterial toxins.

They face threats due to Commercial Harvest for food, bait & Biomedical Use and Habitat loss : Coastal Reclamation & Development, Shoreline Alteration, Climate change etc

In India: Placed in Schedule IV of the Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972 in 2009.
- This inclusion means that catching and killing a horseshoe crab is an offense.
IUCN Status
- It placed them into the Red list of Threatened species.
- It observes International Horseshoe crab Day on 20th June.

Living fossils are the species that have survived for millions of years, retaining identical traits to their ancestors from ancient times.
- These organisms are offering invaluable clues about the evolutionary journey and the ecological landscape of ancient Earth.

Coelacanth: It was rediscovered in 1938 off the coast of South Africa.
- This deep-sea fish, characterised by its lobed fins functioning somewhat akin to limbs.
Ginkgo Biloba: Sole surviving member of an ancient group of plants.
- Its distinctive fan-shaped leaves have remained unchanged for millions of years.
Wollemi Pine: Unearthed in 1994 in Australia, the Wollemi Pine is a rare plant.
Tuatara: Exclusive to New Zealand, the tuatara is a reptilian species.

Also Read: New Marine Amphipod Species Found In Chilika Lake

News Source: The Hindu

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