Indo-Pacific Horseshoe Crab

The Indo-Pacific horseshoe crab, also known as the Indonesian, Indian, or southern horseshoe crab, is one of the four living horseshoe crab species and is found in coastal waters from the Bay of Bengal to the South China Sea, including India, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, and the Philippines. It reaches about 50 centimeters in total length including its tail, with a carapace up to 26.5 centimeters wide and a sage green exoskeleton, six pairs of legs, and a long spiny tail. It lives in seagrass meadows and on sandy or muddy shores at depths of up to 40 meters, tolerates both marine and brackish water, and is the only horseshoe crab species observed swimming at the surface of the ocean, though its eggs need higher salinity to hatch. It is listed as Data Deficient on the IUCN Red List.