If you've read my previous blogs, you know I'm fascinated with "close-up" photography--I love the small details of nature! So, can you guess what animal this is? Its species is considered a "living fossil" and it's on display at our ever-popular Touch Tank. Here's one of its compound eyes--similar to an insect's eye:
"The Horseshoe Crab" run by the Delaware-based Ecological Research & Development Group, a non-profit organization dedicated to horseshoe crab conservation. It has a detailed description of horseshoe crab anatomy and an explanation of how LAL (Limulus amebocyte lysate) a derivative of horseshoe crab blood is used to test drugs, vaccines and medical products for bacterial toxins thereby saving human lives. The Maryland Department of Natural Resources has an excellent overview of the life history of horseshoe crabs.
Many thanks to Touch Tank volunteers Dawson Connell, Tatum Conner, Carly Cook, Erin Copsey, Poppy Crawshaw, Megan Holley and Kristen Penrose who helped me with all these photos--very patient folks! More off the beaten path in two weeks....