Does anyone know what this sea creature is called?

Question

i live in Brooklyn and most of my summers i spend on Brighton beach... couple of days ago i was at the beach and i saw this kinda round looking this crawl out of the water ... it kinda looked like a black helmet with a rat tail ... i was wondering even since what the name of this think was. if anyone knows what im talking about please let me know what is was and if not then where can i find out.

ps: i believe it buries it self under the sand in the water ..not sure.

Answer 1

More than likely you saw a Horseshoe Crab which isn't even really a crab, it belongs to the spider family.  It is highly managed in the world of fisheries but has many other uses, especially medically.

Check out this site to see if this is what you saw:

http://www.ocean.udel.edu/horseshoecrab/

Answer 2

It's a horseshoe crab. It's a kind of marine arachnid, distantly related to spiders and scorpions. They go on the beach every summer to mate, lay eggs, and then travel back to the deeper waters, to return next year.

In recent years there has been a decrease in the horseshoe crab population due to overfishing. They are used for feed and bait, as they don't taste very good to humans

Answer 3

that is a horseshoe crab or in scientific terms a limulus polyphemus

Answer 4

its called a horseshoe crab...i forgot the scientific name for it but its a horseshoe crab

Answer 5

is this the animal you saw http://www.newdao.com/uploads/2007/08/ho...

it a horseshoe crab other wise known as Limulus polyphemus.

Answer 6

Sounds like a horseshoe crab.  Try googling that name and see if it looks familiar.  There's lots of interesting stuff on this animal.  Just try the net.

Answer 7

No doubt a Horseshoe Crab. One of the oldest, if not the oldest living creatures in the world.

Answer 8

it could be a different species of hermit crab the way u describe it.hermit crabs usually come out of the water to breed and to bask in the sun.and they do bury themselves with their shells in the sands under water.mine is just a conjecture.

Answer 9

I think what you saw sounds like a Horseshoe crab, they make a shape like a horses hoof in the sand...