OUR CARCINOLOGICAL FRIENDS. 99 
THE HORSESHOE CRAB: IS IT A GIANT SPIDER-FORM ? 
Those among us to whom the horseshoe crab, or 
king-crab as it is frequently called, in allusion to 
its large size, is known 
only in its general de- 
tails, would probably 
scarcely think it worth 
while to consider the 
question as to its posi- 
tion in the = animal- 
world. What should 
it be other than the 
‘crab’ that it has al- 
ways been considered ? 
With our carcinologi- 
eal friends it agrees 
in the possession of a 
crusty envelope or 
shield, it breathes by 
means of gills, inhabits 
the water or mud like 
them, and has, more- 
over, the end-joints of 
the legs pincered (che- 
late). Further, it peri- 
odically sheds its shield like the crabs. But relent- 
less and pursuing science has shown that in many 
points of structure the animal is closely related to 
the scorpions, and perhaps even more closely than 
to the entire group of crust-bearing animals as such 
(crabs, shrimps, lobsters, etc.). This relation is seen 
HORSESHOE CRAB. 
