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| Horseshoe crab shell. |
One hundred and fifty thousand years ago, a horseshoe crab crawled onto the shore of a shallow lagoon in what is now southern Germany and searched for worms and shellfish in the damp sand. Nearby, dinosaurs preyed on insects and small animals, and lizards sat in the sun. In the air, winged reptiles soared and one of the earliest birds, archaeopteryx, flapped its wings. Their remains have been preserved as fossils.
The dinosaurs and winged reptiles are long gone, but
horseshoe crabs are still with us, changed little from ancient times. They are
living fossils. On a recent visit to the beach in Lewes, Delaware, I
encountered dozens of horseshoe crabs washed up onto the sand. Every year thousands of horseshoe crabs congregate on the beaches of the eastern United States to mate and lay eggs.
Learn more about horseshoe crabs and other living
fossils in my book LIVING FOSSILS: Clues to the Past (Charlesbridge, 2016.) Look for it in your library, online, or at your local bookstore.
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| Horseshoe crabs coming to shore to lay eggs, pp. 10-11. Illust. by Andrew Plant. |
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| Title page of LIVING FOSSILS: Clues to the Past |
