The 2020 Atlantic Horseshoe Crab (Limulus polyphemus) from CollectA

Today, I want to show you the new Atlantic Horseshoe Crab from CollectA. This model Aas released this year and it's around 15 cm long and it represents the Atlantic Horseshoe Crab (Limulus polyphemus ).
This species is also known as American Horseshoe Crab and the IUCN has recognized it as vulnerable. This animal is an arthropod and belongs to the order of Xiphosura. Because of the name you might think that they are related to Crustaceans, but they are more related to scorpions like the extinct sea scorpions. Females are larger than males and can grow up to 60 cm.

Because of the overall colour scheme, I think that this model represents a jounger specimen. Their colour changes from greenish to darker brown, when they getting older.
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Here, the three main areas are visible: the Prosoma (head region), the Opisthosoma (abdominal region) and the Telson (tail).
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On the downside the mouth, legs and the gills are visible.
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The details are fantastic. When I first saw all these wonderful details, it reminded me of the first semester of Bachelor.

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Sadly, we don't have so much pictures from the practical course. My one looked much better than the one from my wife:
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Thank you for this walkaround Micheal, I am glad I now have a specific species for this figure when it arrives in my collection

Thank you, Adam. Soon, I will add some further informations to this walkaround. I'm searching for some pictures of the practical course 11 years ago.

Very interesting topic Michael! I didn't know these creatures were more closely related with sea scorpions. You provided me a strange experience once now I watched this model in a completely different way.
These figures are often outside of my collecting horizons but I find them fascinating. I am not considering to acquire it but I suspect I will regret.

The relationships between Xiphosura and Eurypterida is not as close as was believed until recently. This old system made Xiphosura paraphyletic. In 2013, it was proposed that Eurypterida was the sister group to Arachnida, and the xiphosurans a sister group to the clade that contains them. In 2019, however, it was proposed that Xiphosura are nested within Arachnida, proper. Either way, the old thought of the horseshoe crabs being allied with the sea scorpions is pretty much defunct.

bmathison1972 wrote:

The relationships between Xiphosura and Eurypterida is not as close as was believed until recently. This old system made Xiphosura paraphyletic. In 2013, it was proposed that Eurypterida was the sister group to Arachnida, and the xiphosurans a sister group to the clade that contains them. In 2019, however, it was proposed that Xiphosura are nested within Arachnida, proper. Either way, the old thought of the horseshoe crabs being allied with the sea scorpions is pretty much defunct.

OK, very interesting. Thank you for more details and the newest revision

Thanks, now i wll add the figure in my collection.

Very nice model and thank`s to your presentation , I will add it to my wish list :)