Tachypleus tridentatus

(Leach, 1819)

Vernacular names
English : Chinese horseshoe crab
French : Limule à trois carènes

Classification
Class : Merostomata
Order : Xiphosurida
Family : Limulidae
Notes : No subspecies known.

Identification
Front part of body is horse-hoof shaped. Largest horseshoe crab species, reaching up to 70 cm in length and 38 cm wide. Forward part slightly lobed. Three rows of distinct spines (blunted with age) on shield. Olive-green to brown.

Range and habitat
The species occurs around South-east Asian coastlines, east India in the Bay of Bengal to Malaysia, east to South China Sea and the Philippines. Lives in coastal sandy and muddy bottom areas, in brackish and marine waters.

Conservation
IUCN RED LIST : ENDANGERED
CITES : Not listed
Status : The species is now the most threatened horseshoe crab in the world. It is overexploited in most of its range and its habitat is greatly altered.
Ex-Situ Programs : None known

Observation

 

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