Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Clinical Evaluation, Common Diseases, and Veterinary Care of the Horseshoe Crab, Limulus polyphemus

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Biology and Conservation of Horseshoe Crabs

Abstract

The American horseshoe crab, Limulus polyphemus, can be maintained in a wide variety of systems ranging from glass aquaria to fiberglass tanks with various types of mechanical and biological filtration. Adult horseshoe crabs are tolerant of a wide range of environmental conditions, with temperatures ranging from –5 to 35°C and salinities from 5 to 35 ppt, with optimal conditions between 15 and 21°C and 27 ppt salinity. Horseshoe crabs should be fed good-quality dead fish, squid, small crabs, clams, frozen brine shrimp, and artificial shrimp/fish diets. Clinical evaluation of a horseshoe crab can be problematic as the hard carapace makes examination and sample collection difficult; however, non-lethal clinical assessment can include external examination, radiology, and hemolymph chemistries and cultures. Biochemical parameters of the horseshoe crab’s hemolymph parallel those seen in many other marine species, but several parameters are notably different from ambient seawater, i.e., calcium, magnesium. Survey and contrast radiographic studies of the cardiovascular and gastrointestinal systems of the horseshoe crab can be undertaken using conventional and fluoroscopic techniques. Infectious etiologies include algae, fungus, colonial and filamentous cyanobacteria, Gram-negative bacteria, and a variety of protozoan and metazoan parasites. Non-infectious problems range from water quality problems to developmental syndromes and traumatic injuries. Little is known of the therapeutic options for treatment of horseshoe crab diseases; however, a few treatments have been suggested for the removal of ectocommensals and external parasites, and the pharmacokinetics of oxytetracycline following intracardiac and oral dosing have recently been investigated.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 169.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 219.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 219.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Bang FB (1956) A bacterial disease of Limulus polyphemus. Bull Johns Hopkins Hosp 98: 325–351

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Botton ML (1981) The gill books of the horseshoe crab (Limulus polyphemus) as a substrate for the blue mussel (Mytilus edulis). Bull NJ Acad Sci 26:26–28

    Google Scholar 

  • Bullis RA (1994) Care and maintenance of horseshoe crabs for use in biomedical research. In: Stolen JS, Fletcher TC, Rowley AF, Zelikoff JT, Kaattari SL, Smith SA (eds) Techniques in Fish Immunology, Volume 3. SOS Publications, Fair Haven, NJ, pp A9–A10

    Google Scholar 

  • Bursey CR (1977) Histological response to injury in the horseshoe crab, Limulus polyphemus. Can J Zool 55: 1158–1165

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chamberlain SC, Barlow RB (1980) Neuroanatomy of the visual afferents in the horseshoe crab (Limulus polyphemus). J Comp Neurol 192: 387–400

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chamberlain SC, Wyse GA (1986) An atlas of the brain of the horseshoe crab Limulus polyphemus. J Morphol 187: 363–386

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chen SS, Hong Y, Yang C (1989) Cultivation of horseshoe crab amebocytes. Kaohsiung J Med Sci 5: 516–521

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Clare AS, Lumb G, Clare PA, Costlow JD (1990) A morphological study of wound repair and telson regeneration n postlarval Limulus polyphemus. Invertebr Reprod Dev 17: 77–87

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Coursey Y, Ahmad N, McGee BM, Steimel N, Kimble M (2003) Amebocyte production begins at stage 18 during embryogenesis in Limulus polyphemus, the American Horseshoe Crab. Biol Bull 204: 21–27

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Deaton LE and Kempler KD (1989) Occurrence of the ribbed mussel, Geukensia demissa, on the book gills of the horseshoe crab, Limulus polyphemus. Nautilus 103: 42

    Google Scholar 

  • Fahrenbach WH (1981) The morphology of the horseshoe crab (Limulus polyphemus) visual system. Cell Tiss Res 216: 655–659

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gore SR, Hadfield CA, Clayton LA, Clews A (2006) Challenges of managing horseshoe crabs (Limulus polyphemus) in an interactive exhibit. Proceedings of the 31st Eastern Fish Health Workshop, p20.

    Google Scholar 

  • Grant D (2001) Living on Limulus. In: Tanacredi JT (ed) Limulus in the Limelight. Kluwer Academic/Plenum, New York, pp 135–145

    Google Scholar 

  • Groff JF, Leibovitz L (1982) A gill disease of Limulus polyphemus associated with triclad turbellarid worm infections. Biol Bull 163: 392

    Google Scholar 

  • Kawakatsu M (1989) Redescription of an ectoparasitic marine triclad, Bdelloura candida (Girard, 1850) (Burbellaria; Tricladida; Maricola), collected from the American horseshoe crab, Limulus polyphemus. Bull Biogeogr Soc Jpn 44: 183–198

    Google Scholar 

  • Kingsley JS (1892) The embryology of Limulus. J Morphol 7: 35–68

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Landy RB, Leibovitz LA (1983) A preliminary study of the toxicity and therapeutic efficacy of formalin in the treatment of triclad turbellarid worm infestations in Limulus polyphemus. Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Society of Invertebrate Pathology. Ithaca, NY

    Google Scholar 

  • Leibovitz L (1986) Cyanobacterial diseases of the horseshoe crab (Limulus polyphemus). Biol Bull 171: 482

    Google Scholar 

  • Leibovitz L, Lewbart GA (1987) A green algal (chlorophycophytal) infection of the dorsal surface of the exoskeleton and associated organ structures in the horseshoe crab (Limulus polyphemus). Biol Bull 173: 430

    Google Scholar 

  • Leibovitz L, Lewbart GA (2004) Diseases and symbionts: Vulnerability despite tough shells. In: Shuster CN Jr, Barlow RB, Brockmann HJ (eds) The American Horseshoe Crab. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, pp 245–275

    Google Scholar 

  • Liang P, Cheng TK, Qu YQ, Wu WH (1990) Ultrastructural observations on hemocytopoiesis in embryos of the horseshoe crab, Tachypleus tridentatus. Proceedings of the XII International Congress of Electron Microscopy, August 12–18, 1990. Seattle, WA. 3: 506–507

    Google Scholar 

  • Luna LG (1968) Manual of histologic staining methods of the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology. Blakiston Division, McGraw-Hill, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Mainous ME, Smith SA (2005) Efficacy of common disinfectants against Mycobacterium marinium. J Aquat Anim Health 17: 284–288

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Melchior R, Quigley JP, Armstrong PB (1995) Macroglobulin-mediated clearance of proteases from the plasma of the American horseshoe crab, Limulus polyphemus. J Biol Chem 270: 13496–13502

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Moore JL, Aros M, Steudel KG, Cheng KC (2002) Fixation and decalcification of adult zebrafish for histological, immunocytochemical and genotypic analysis. Biotechniques 32(2): 296–298

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Nolan MW, Smith, SA, Jones D (2007) Pharmacokinetics of oxytetracycline in the American horseshoe crab, Limulus polyphemus. J Vet Pharmacol Ther 30: 451–455

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ryder JA (1882) Observations on the species of planarians on Limulus. Am Nat 16: 48–51

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith SA (2006) Diseases and Health Management of the Horseshoe crab (Limulus polyphemus). In: Lewbart GA (ed) Invertebrate Medicine. Blackwell Publishing, Ames, IA, pp 133–142

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Smith SA, Berkson J (2005) Laboratory culture and maintenance of the horseshoe crab (Limulus polyphemus). Lab Anim 34(7): 27–34

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith SA, Berkson JM, Barratt RA (2002) Horseshoe crab (Limulus polyphemus) hemolymph, biochemical and immunological parameters. Proc Int Assoc Aquat Anim Med 33: 101–102

    Google Scholar 

  • Spotswood T, Smith SA (2007) Cardiovascular and gastrointestinal radiographic contrast studies in the horseshoe crab (Limulus polyphemus). Vet Radiol Ultrasound 48: 14–20

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stunkard HW (1950) Microphallid metacercaria encysted in Limulus. Biol Bull 99: 347

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stunkard HW (1951) Observations on the morphology and life-history of Microphallus n. sp. (Trematoda: Microphallidae). Biol Bull 101: 307–318

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stunkard HW (1953) Natural hosts of Microphallus limuli. J Parasitol 39: 225

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stunkard HW (1968) The sexual generation, life cycle, and systemic relations of Microphallus limuli (Trematoda: Digenea). Biol Bull 134: 332–343

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Turner LL, Kammire C, Sydlik MA (1988) Preliminary report: Composition of communities resident on Limulus carapaces. Biol Bull 175: 312

    Google Scholar 

  • Walls EA, Berkson J, Smith SA (2002) The horseshoe crab, Limulus polyphemus: 200 million years of existence, 100 years of study. Rev Fish Sci 10: 39–73

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weiner WW, Chamberlain SC (1994) The visual fields of American horseshoe crabs: two different eye shapes in Limulus polyphemus. Vis Neurosci 11: 333–346

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wheeler WM (1894) Syncoelidium pellucidum, a new marine triclad. J Morphol 9: 167–194

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. NYC Veterinary Specialists and Cancer Treatment Center, 410 West 55th Street, New York, NY, 10019, USA

    Michael W. Nolan

  2. Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA, 24061-0321, USA

    Stephen A. Smith

  3. Horseshoe Crab Research Center, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA, 24061-0321, USA

    Stephen A. Smith

Authors
  1. Michael W. Nolan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Stephen A. Smith
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Michael W. Nolan .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. Earth & Marine Sciences, Dowling College, Long Island, 11769-1999, USA

    John T. Tanacredi

  2. Dept. Natural Sciences, Fordham University, West 60th St. 113, New York, 10023, U.S.A.

    Mark L. Botton

  3. Leetown Science Center, Aquatic Ecology Lab., US Geological Survey, Leetown Rd. 11649, Kearneysville, 25430, U.S.A.

    David Smith

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2009 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Nolan, M.W., Smith, S.A. (2009). Clinical Evaluation, Common Diseases, and Veterinary Care of the Horseshoe Crab, Limulus polyphemus . In: Tanacredi, J., Botton, M., Smith, D. (eds) Biology and Conservation of Horseshoe Crabs. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-89959-6_30

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation