horseshoe crab

noun

a large marine arthropod, Limulus polyphemus, of shallow coastal waters of eastern North America and eastern Asia, having both compound and simple eyes, book gills, a stiff tail, and a brown carapace curved like a horseshoe: a living fossil related to the woodlouse.

Origin of horseshoe crab

First recorded in 1765–75

Also called king crab.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for horseshoe crab

Historical Examples of horseshoe crab

But the king- or horseshoe-crab has still no true jaws, but uses the upper joints of its legs for chewing.
The Whence and the Whither of Man
John Mason Tyler

British Dictionary definitions for horseshoe crab

horseshoe crab

noun

any marine chelicerate arthropod of the genus Limulus, of North America and Asia, having a rounded heavily armoured body with a long pointed tail: class MerostomataAlso called: king crab

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012