They're still here. There were more in the 80s for sure. But there still are a lot. They come out in numbers at a specific time though, which is just before and just after beach vacation season, so a lot of people are remembering beaches full of them from some October or April they visited the beach, when as adults they only go in the summer, etc.
Everything is crab. Horse shoe crab? is crab. Lobster? is crab. Shrimp? is crab. Spider? is crab. Woodlouse? is crab. Cockroach? is crab. Ant? is crab. Beetle? Is crab. Millipede? Is crab. Earwig? Is crab. Centipede? Is crab. wasp? is crab. Pangolin? Is crab. Tortoise? is crab. Crocodile? Is crab. Jellyfish? is crab. Horny toad? Is crab. Bear? is crab. Tardigrade? is crab. Salmon? is crab. Mongoose? is crab. Goose? is crab. Platypus? is crab. Condor? is crab. Elephant? is crab. Horse? is crab
I've had caviar twice. The second time, because a snobby acquaintance was telling everyone about "the right caviar" because the other ones are cheap and gross. Both just tasted like salt. Like how sardines taste. Forgive me if this offends your friends, but fish eggs are gross and I'll never be suckered into trying them again, even if I've "just not had the right ones yet."
I think salty sea brine is a better descriptor for the flavor than straight salt, the caviar I've tried always reminded me of getting hit full in the face by a wave & snorting the saltwater down your throat. Not for me lol
Salmon roe, cod roe is tasty too. I'd recommend trying cod roe, it's really nice after cooking. Also you cook the egg sac, it's not caviar. You get a lot more interesting flavours instead of just salt.
That's cool. I won't, though. My last sentence of the previous comment stands. Idc that it was "the wrong one" or anything; I'll not be trying it again.
I wouldn't eat caviar without anything else. Just like I wouldn't eat a spoonful of cinnamon. But I like cinnamon rolls, just as I like deviled eggs with a small portion of caviar on top.
Also, their blood is incredibly valuable, pften called "blue gold." It sells for upword of $15,000 per quart. However you have to have the proper licenses to sell it, so don't go killing innocent crabs!
You dont need to kill them to get it. You can bleed a small amount off them and then release them maybe 100miles down current from where you find them. By the time they make it back they are more than recovered to go through the cycle again. Some companies are not as ethical as others, though they overbleed the crabs and let them die.
Its used to test for endotoxin in all pharmaceutical products and any medical decive that enters the vascular system. Look up the bacterial endotoxin test if youre interested. We do this in my lab for maybe 300 samples a week. Last i checked we spent about 250k euro on lysate a year. Im becoming the specialist on this as my job, its really interesting test
I think most of the major producers have horseshoe crab farms these days rather than catching them in the wild. But you are correct that they try not to kill the crabs when they bleed them. It's much more cost effective to "milk" the same crabs over and over rather than having to raise new crabs every time.
Completely. Their claws can't pinch, the tail isn't sharp or venomous and is just there to turn them upright if they get flipped on their back, and even the mouth, the "teeth" are like the bristles of a hair brush. They're 100% harmless and even beneficial to us.
Aside from scavenging rotting stuff to keep the ocean clean, their blood is the most sensitive known detector of Gram negative bacterial contamination. Every injectable and implantable thing that you know is free of bacteria and bacterial endotoxins so it's safe for a doctor to put in your body, they're how we know it was safe to put in.
TheStreetForce
Natures lil roombas
pirdhuobudall
Ä https://media2.giphy.com/media/v1.Y2lkPWE1NzM3M2U1Y3VoZGw5bGtuaXh5MDZuOHAxanEzMWRiMmp0dXg1a2E1dnM5MWsxYyZlcD12MV9naWZzX3NlYXJjaCZjdD1n/6h4z4b3v6XWxO/200w.webp
RandywithanI
“Nice doggy!”
KawaiiInari
I used to dream about them all the time when I was a kid. They never hurt me, but I was scared of them anyway.
CaldariBob
Finally! After so many disappointments, @zeacorzeppelin10 !
Aquacomforter
Why is this horseshoe crab in a yard instead of on the beach?
Rugras
You can't convince me crabs are not aliens.
TNSCLuotaMEa4fVN
They look like Trilobites!
69Voltage
GF’s gonna be disappointed
SteveMcCroskey
Same-ole same-ole
SploogeMcDuck316
SalmySwims
Unrestrained summer fun
Knner13
Imagine a Crab
Yupurineutah
Hand hand hand!
bluegargoyle
Ankylosaur
Chawzilla
Good puppy
zombywoof68
zombywoof68
DarthGoodguy
OamZ
https://imgur.com/PcxlnuT it is Kabuto .... (yes i know some of us can hear this photo)
DarthGoodguy
inkadikt
Templarmx
https://media4.giphy.com/media/v1.Y2lkPWE1NzM3M2U1Ym51czljZzJmaGx0eTMyd3h6cjc1bmNqdTJ5aDU0dWltejQyeXlpcSZlcD12MV9naWZzX3NlYXJjaCZjdD1n/COjAhXk0sJRAOdCyXR/200w.webp
LordofSadFace
greenchair
They need to go back in the ocean
InvadingYourSpaces
Not really. They can breath air as long as their gills are wet. They're fine.
OliverOtter
Yes, they have to lay their eggs on land, near but not in the water. They're made to spend considerable time out of it.
jlhmkm
Can you believe they've been around since the TRIASSIC period, and have barely evolved at all since then? Amazing.
Cats2cats
When I was a kid you had to jump over these guys to get in the water at the Jersey Shore. Now day there are a lot who have never seen one.
DocWino
Haven’t seen sand crabs like we used too either. Are grunion still running?
servingmytimeinusersub
I remember in Norfolk you'd step on em and feel em slide out from under you
TalaayaCosplay
They seem so exotic I didn't realize the US had them. The west coast certainly doesn't. That's neat that they're on the east coast. Or were.
Cats2cats
They used to find them on all the beaches in New Jersey. Mating season. They can still be found around Cap May.
Cats2cats
*Cape
hufflesnuff
They're still here. There were more in the 80s for sure. But there still are a lot. They come out in numbers at a specific time though, which is just before and just after beach vacation season, so a lot of people are remembering beaches full of them from some October or April they visited the beach, when as adults they only go in the summer, etc.
Cats2cats
They were all over the beaches late June-early July.
AsABiologistWhoIsNotFunAtParties
we're over-exploiting them
TheFastpaws
That is humans for ya. Just disappointing.
Alvatore
Not humans. Capitalism.
ragingzealot
Horseshoe crabs aren't actually crabs. They're Chelicerates and crabs are Mandibulates.
baals
Palm trees are grass
PantsAreForTheWeek
Thanks Crabman!
VidaVita
That's what she said.
NefariousGoop
Which would make them more closely related to spiders and scorpions?
ragingzealot
Correct
Agarast
And they're old af!
imakeeper
Not just old. Verifiably ANCIENT!
sabrina1059
Yes, think of them as a marine spider.
vmos
Everything is crab. Horse shoe crab? is crab. Lobster? is crab. Shrimp? is crab. Spider? is crab. Woodlouse? is crab. Cockroach? is crab. Ant? is crab. Beetle? Is crab. Millipede? Is crab. Earwig? Is crab. Centipede? Is crab. wasp? is crab. Pangolin? Is crab. Tortoise? is crab. Crocodile? Is crab. Jellyfish? is crab. Horny toad? Is crab. Bear? is crab. Tardigrade? is crab. Salmon? is crab. Mongoose? is crab. Goose? is crab. Platypus? is crab. Condor? is crab. Elephant? is crab. Horse? is crab
ButtonsAreForPushing
https://media4.giphy.com/media/v1.Y2lkPTY1YjkxZmJldDdsamg4OXdvMnBmNWRwdGNtMmczeGwxaDM2dGVsNmsxNXlsejUzZSZlcD12MV9naWZzX3NlYXJjaCZjdD1n/d3MM4vAejYomlzGg/giphy.mp4
gummyloaf
Yeah yeah, next thing you’ll tell me is they’re not actually horses either
GatDangHippies
Nah, they're chalice-rats. they said it!
Stellori
Exactly. They're shoes.
711isAnInsideJob
But I bet that you could attach one to a horses foot
ViolentlyJaded
If I'm allergic to seafood am I allergic to horseshoe crab?
mercyPandaRunner
"Seafood" is a word that encompasses most Metazoa (higher animals). That's kind of a pretty broad question.
Boatsntoes
New iron chef food challenge.
SmilinSloth
If your allergic to fish than no, if you're allergic to crustaceans (shelled) then yes. Some people will be allergic to one but not the other
verukt89
They do actually eat them in some places. The eggs are eaten, but i don't think it's very good. It was on an episode of bizarre foods
4etherling
You probably won't enjoy their copper blood
ragingzealot
Horseshoe crab meat is pretty gross but their eggs are pretty good from what I hear. I don't know about the allergies.
theshinobi23
I've had caviar twice. The second time, because a snobby acquaintance was telling everyone about "the right caviar" because the other ones are cheap and gross. Both just tasted like salt. Like how sardines taste. Forgive me if this offends your friends, but fish eggs are gross and I'll never be suckered into trying them again, even if I've "just not had the right ones yet."
WhyWouldIUseMyRealNick
I agree about caviar. However you need to try good sardines, for example La quiberonnaise in olive oil.
Calicious
I've had VERY good Almas Beluga caviar.
It tasted like salt. It all just tastes like salt.
nomorehate
I think salty sea brine is a better descriptor for the flavor than straight salt, the caviar I've tried always reminded me of getting hit full in the face by a wave & snorting the saltwater down your throat. Not for me lol
InTangier
Salmon roe, cod roe is tasty too. I'd recommend trying cod roe, it's really nice after cooking. Also you cook the egg sac, it's not caviar. You get a lot more interesting flavours instead of just salt.
theshinobi23
That's cool. I won't, though. My last sentence of the previous comment stands. Idc that it was "the wrong one" or anything; I'll not be trying it again.
PenisOfDeath
But I like sardines. They're crunchy and go great with mustard
theshinobi23
I like sardines, too. They're not tiny gooey beads, so the salty flavor works with what you can do with them.
DerpMeister
I wouldn't eat caviar without anything else. Just like I wouldn't eat a spoonful of cinnamon. But I like cinnamon rolls, just as I like deviled eggs with a small portion of caviar on top.
DrBlackJack
Also, their blood is incredibly valuable, pften called "blue gold." It sells for upword of $15,000 per quart. However you have to have the proper licenses to sell it, so don't go killing innocent crabs!
toolazytoname
You dont need to kill them to get it. You can bleed a small amount off them and then release them maybe 100miles down current from where you find them. By the time they make it back they are more than recovered to go through the cycle again. Some companies are not as ethical as others, though they overbleed the crabs and let them die.
Sulanis
Horseshoe crab Blueblood is used to test for contamination in vaccines. Is it done the most ethically? No, but this saved millions of lives.
toolazytoname
Its used to test for endotoxin in all pharmaceutical products and any medical decive that enters the vascular system. Look up the bacterial endotoxin test if youre interested. We do this in my lab for maybe 300 samples a week. Last i checked we spent about 250k euro on lysate a year. Im becoming the specialist on this as my job, its really interesting test
ROGUEdenied
There is a high demand for blood, the harvest of which involves collecting the animals, bleeding them, and then releasing them back into the sea.
DrBlackJack
I think most of the major producers have horseshoe crab farms these days rather than catching them in the wild. But you are correct that they try not to kill the crabs when they bleed them. It's much more cost effective to "milk" the same crabs over and over rather than having to raise new crabs every time.
SewerRanger
There are no commercial farms for these. They're bled and (supposedly) released and tagged so they won't be bled again for a while. The truth of the matter is they're often used as bait or simply left to die after being bleed. The populations asking the cost have steadily been declining over the years. You can read about it here: https://www.npr.org/2023/06/10/1180761446/coastal-biomedical-labs-are-bleeding-more-horseshoe-crabs-with-little-accountabi
astronomygeek7
Can you imagine making a bra out of these?
Fairemont
I haven't considered it.
TheFastpaws
You could try it as a cod piece.
BossVarriack
I never really thought about it before, but are they largely harmless to humans?
OliverOtter
Completely. Their claws can't pinch, the tail isn't sharp or venomous and is just there to turn them upright if they get flipped on their back, and even the mouth, the "teeth" are like the bristles of a hair brush. They're 100% harmless and even beneficial to us.
Timetoupdatemyusername
Oooh!! Tell us more, beneficial how?
OliverOtter
Aside from scavenging rotting stuff to keep the ocean clean, their blood is the most sensitive known detector of Gram negative bacterial contamination. Every injectable and implantable thing that you know is free of bacteria and bacterial endotoxins so it's safe for a doctor to put in your body, they're how we know it was safe to put in.
nspriest233
Beautiful critters too. Its amazing what nature can do
Timetoupdatemyusername
Thaat is awesome. I'm always amazed at the thought of who decided to give THAT a try? Awesome stuff.
zeacorzeppelin10
That's a female. It's got pitchers.
leechdemon
YEAH she does!!
TrinDiesel
Do you mean to tell me that thing plays baseball?
DaveSamsonite
Not very well, but sure!
zeacorzeppelin10
I know i spelled pinchers and my phone changed it to pitchers.
SailorPupitar
No it's got jugs
Whoisthisdoctorwho2000
Naw, the lady with the Kookaburra has got jugs
Dogman1227
You made me look this up...
Djkb6718
They have blue blood
TheOneAndOnlyButtStabber
But how is the sauce?! - Crazy lady from Micky17
PrincessWasabi
Poor schmucks, spend a lifetime being tapped in a lab:(
aRabidGerbil
They're generally harvested in a catch and release program
PrincessWasabi
Really ? That’s so wonderful
flukeysnail
Blue because it's copper-based instead of iron-based like our own, and it's the reason we have safe vaccines
https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/horseshoe-crab-blood-miracle-vaccine-ingredient.html
Treforce
*gasp*... royalty
honeybadger314
They think they’re better than us red bloods?
Sypurist
chrisjohnson76
Copper IS more valuable than iron, so yeah, they're kinda better
jargonmon
Blood worth a lot of moolah if you know how.
7billion
It's not good what we do to them
honeybadger314
My blood is worth some juice and a cookie
Duraxis
Sorry to be the one to tell you this, but you got ripped off
honeybadger314
Yeah, I should have haggled more.
gordy77
Their blood contains a compound LAL which is used to detect endotoxins in steriliser water and for reusable medical devices.
CyborgScribe
Can't we just make this chemical ourselves?
gordy77
I think there are synthetic alternatives in the works if not developed already