Horseshoe crab

Horseshoe crab

　　Found in coastal towns, horseshoe crabs are abundant and belong to the class Merostomata, family Limulidae. Evolved from the now-extinct trilobites, they are known as living fossils. Their blood has anti-cancer properties, their shells can be used as medicinal materials, and their tails can serve as shuttles for weaving nets. The meat and eggs of horseshoe crabs are nutritious and delicious. Because their blood contains copper ions, it can be used to make limulus amebocyte lysate (LAL), which can quickly and accurately detect whether there are bacterial infections in the human body’s internal tissues; in the pharmaceutical and food industries, it can also be used as a toxin contamination monitoring agent. (Beihai)