Horseshoe Crab facts
While investigating facts about Horseshoe Crab Blood and Horseshoe Crab Blood Price, I found out little known, but curios details like:
The Horseshoe Crab, which has been around for 450 million years, bleeds blue blood because it has Hemocyanin, which has copper, instead of hemoglobin as a transport protein.
how old are horseshoe crabs?
About 600,000 Horseshoe Crabs are caught each year to have their blood harvested to test medicines and medical devices for endotoxins like E. coli. This is a concern as they're now classified as "Vulnerable" and currently create the only substance able to detect these types of bacteria.
What horseshoe crabs eat?
In my opinion, it is useful to put together a list of the most interesting details from trusted sources that I've come across answering what do horseshoe crabs eat. Here are 50 of the best facts about Horseshoe Crab Blood Uses and Horseshoe Crab Eyes I managed to collect.
what's horseshoe crab blood used for?
-
Horseshoe crabs have saved more human lives than all other animals put together
-
Horseshoe crab blood, costing $60,000 per gallon, is unique and is integral in FDA testing. This has led to a massive effort by scientists to try to conserve this invaluable resource.
-
Horseshoe crabs have blue blood which has the ability to respond to bacteria in a way like no other creature on Earth.
-
The blood of horseshoe crabs is extremely useful for detecting bacterial endotoxins. Every year we catch about 500,000 crabs, drain some of their blood, and then release them back into the ocean.
-
Horseshoe crabs' blood does not contain hemoglobin. Instead, it contains hemocyanin, giving it a blue color. It also contains immune cells called amebocytes, which are used in medicine to detect bacterial endotoxins.
-
Blood from horseshoe crabs is harvested every year and is the single best way to test for bacterial toxins in the manufacture of any medical substance or device put into the human body.
-
The Horseshoe Crab Has Survived 4 Mass Extinction Events
-
The voice of Optimus Prime, Peter Cullen, made the famous clicking/gurgling sound of The Predator. With nothing to go by except a photo, his inspiration came from the noise horseshoe crabs make when turned upside down.
-
The primitive immune system of a horseshoe crab makes them useful to humans. Every drug certified by the FDA must be tested using an extract from their blood cells. Their blood is worth ~$15,000 a quart. A horseshoe crab can be bled, returned to the ocean, and after time, can give blood again.
-
Blue Blood from a horseshoe crab is very expensive. It can cost upwards of $60,000/gallon on the open market. Horseshoe crab have a compound in their blood called LAL – Limulus Amebocyte Lysate. This compound immediately binds and clots around viruses, endotoxins, and fungi.
Why horseshoe crab blood is blue?
You can easily fact check why horseshoe crab blood by examining the linked well-known sources.
The harvesting of blood from horseshoe crabs only kills 30% of crabs, the rest surivive and are released back into the ocean.
A synthetic version of horseshoe crab blood has existed for 15 years and that the practice of bleeding horseshoe crabs alive by the pharmaceutical industry is outdated and unnecessary. Some companies are beginning to commit to the humane synthetic alternative. - source
Horseshoe crab has large compound eyes on the sides of carapace, five eyes on top of the body and two eyes on the bottom side. They are used to facilitate detection of mating partners and navigation in the ocean.
Horseshoe crab can survive 20 to 40 years in the wild.
Horseshoe crabs aren't crabs at all. They're far closer related to spiders than they are to crustaceans. In fact, horseshoe crabs are arachnids. - source
When horseshoe crab blood?
Horseshoe crab is nocturnal creature.
How much is horseshoe crab blood worth?
Larvae emerge from the nest usually after 5 weeks. They look like miniature version of adults with very short tail.
Horseshoe Crabs are caught and drained of 30% of their blood and then released. Medical companies use the blood to detect if instruments are sterile.
Adult horseshoe crabs walk on the sea floor. Young animals occasionally swim oriented upside down by using gills as paddles.
Males reach sexual maturity at the age of 8 to 9 years, females at the age of 10 to 11 years.