Horseshoe Crabs Limulus polyphemus are extremely common in the rivers and bays of this area. They are actually more closely related to spiders than to the other crustaceans on this page. In fact, technically they are not crustaceans at all. Despite their fierce-looking array of claws and spines, they are completely harmless.
They are also completely inedible - not even the native Indians would eat them except in the direst emergency. They are nonetheless threatened by man since vast numbers are collected commercially for fertilizer, bait, and other uses. Horseshoe Crabs are found from the water's edge down to 75 feet.
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