horseshoe crab


noun

a large marine arthropod, Limulus polyphemus, of shallow coastal waters of eastern North America and eastern Asia, having both compound and simple eyes, book gills, a stiff tail, and a brown carapace curved like a horseshoe: a living fossil related to the woodlouse.
Also called king crab.

Origin of horseshoe crab

First recorded in 1765–75

Example sentences from the Web for horseshoe crab

British Dictionary definitions for horseshoe crab

horseshoe crab

noun

any marine chelicerate arthropod of the genus Limulus, of North America and Asia, having a rounded heavily armoured body with a long pointed tail: class Merostomata Also called: king crab