Julia, First MateThis Guy Might Save Your Life!
Updated: Sep 12, 2020
Cool facts about the Horseshoe Crab...and how it may be the answer to the COVID vaccine.
While walking on the beaches of Gwynn Island, VA I kept stumbling across these odd looking carcuses.
The shell was hard and looked like a helmet, an attached was a tail resembling a stingray.
What WAS this thing?
Not surprisingly, James knew the answer.
"It's a horseshe crab," he said. "Their blood is awesome. It's blue and they use it to test medicine."
I had to know more...so I found these cool facts about the Atlantic Horseshoe Crab thanks to National Geographic.
They have been around for over 450 Million years, pre-dating dinosaurs.
They are found on the East Coast from Maine all the way to Florida.
They are more closely related to spiders & scorpions than to their namesake crab.
Their mouth is attached to the center of their 10 legs, classifying them a Merostomata.
Their blue blood reacts to bateria by clotting, and is used to test everything from water to IV drugs for contamination.
The blood is key for making vaccines for diseases such as COVID-19.
Huh, who knew?
Oh, that's right, the Captain.
Cheers,
Julia
Check out the video that inspired this blog!