Once a Spawn a Time: Horseshoe Crabs Mob the Beach | Deep Look
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- Опубліковано 30 сер 2021
- Horseshoe crabs may look scary, but when it's springtime in Delaware Bay, millions of these arthropods show they're lovers, not fighters. They lay masses of blue-green eggs up on the shore. At just the right time, they pop and release the larvae within the sea.
WATCH our crab collab episode with OVERVIEW on@pbsterra! • Why Are There 30 MILLI...
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Each spring during May and June, Atlantic horseshoe crabs gather by the millions along the East Coast of North America with only one thing on their mind - a springtime spawning spree!
From Maine to the Gulf of Mexico they seek out calm bays and estuaries, waiting for the highest tides to emerge from the waves. They dig down into the wet sand and deposit huge numbers of pea-sized eggs.
David R. Smith, a biological statistician who studies horseshoe crabs for the U.S.Geological Survey, has come to Slaughter Beach, Delaware, to witness the spectacle under the glow of a full moon.
“It's sort of like looking back in time,” says Smith, “That same scene of these marine creatures coming to the water's edge on a quiet sandy beach to spawn has been repeated for millions and millions of years without much variation.”
--- What do horseshoe crabs eat?
Horseshoe crabs mostly eat worms and mollusks from the seafloor. But they aren’t picky, they’ll eat other things like small fish and different crustaceans.
--- Why do horseshoe crabs lay their eggs on land?
By laying their eggs in the damp sand, they protect their eggs from the many predators that live in the sea. It allows their offspring a chance to develop before another high tide carries them into the sea.
--- Why do horseshoe crabs have blue blood?
Like other mollusks, horseshoe crabs have blood that carries oxygen using a copper-containing protein called hemocyanin. The hemocyanin turns blue when exposed to oxygen. Vertebrates like humans have iron-containing hemoglobin in their blood, causing it to turn red when exposed to oxygen.
---+ Find additional resources and a transcript on KQED Science:
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When I was a kid, I read a book about prehistoric creatures, featuring horseshoe crabs, I thought they were extinct. Years later, I was dumbfounded to discover they still exist. Like a dinosaur coming to life.
yes and they def hold prehistoric physical features
we had a woman with some sea creatures bring a horseshoe crab in while i was in preschool lol, i loved that thing
I thought so too. Maybe it's like the coelacanth?
They look a bit like Trilobites.
What you were seeing was trilobite. While similar in appearance, they are not related.
The horseshoe crab babies are the cutest 😭😭
no is like ah baby predator
teeny eentsy facehuggers.
@@KQEDDeepLook k
It’s kabuto
Absolutely!
Been around 400 million years surviving the dinosaur’s extinction only to be endangered today. Something to think about. Thanks for the lovely video!
Yeah thanks to us, ever since we became smart we used our intelligence for destruction
interestingly, it's the east asian horseshoe crab that is listed as 'endangered', while the atlantic one is listed 'vulnerable'. seems the 3 asian species receive far less conservation efforts than the north american species.
@@alveolate Interesting fact
@@alveolate In Vietnam, we eat them. I think China and other countries too. In general, Asian countries don't really preserve anything.
Dude, the same could be said about the trilobites, who were extremely resilient, until the end-permian extinction wiped them out.
The anthropocene is basically a new mass extinction. Unless you're a climate change denier, you'd probably agree that in time, it would prove to be just as bad, if not worse for the environment than the end-permian.
Fine, I'm over-exaggerating a bit. Still, the anthropocene mass extinction is very much real in my eyes!
This channel is literally the spark that inspired me to pursue a career in environmental/ ecological sciences. Thank you Deep Look for being such a big part of my life! ❤️
You got your likes.
WOW CALife. That makes our day! We are so glad you are part of our community. #inspo
I think I'm unintentionally a dedicated myrmecologist due to kurzgesagt, scishow and this channel. . .
:O
lol, and i'm here like "eww.. this is disgusting.. why do these creatures exist, i don't want to go swimming in the sea ever again :("
Thanks for a great collaboration! Those tiny little eggs really make a huge difference in the life cycle of these migratory animals and in our episode! 💯
You did amazing
Our pleasure!
Horseshoe crabs are one of my favorite animals thanks for making this video possible!
👍🌄🌉🌅🌁😁
I like how they call it otherworldly when it’s probably the longest thing to be on earth
Othermodernworldly isn't a word so...
I like your irony .. good job!
Oh there's animals that have been around for significantly longer. Sponges and comb jellies are good examples. Both are thought to have appeared during the cambrian explosion 500 million years ago. Even then there's recent evidence suggesting that sponges have been around since 890 million years old.
It's because we have a strong prejudice against things different from us. Sometimes I actually wonder if we humans can just be wiped now. We humans are not even from this planet tbh.
@@wildsideofthings7733 interesting
Ah, so the eggs are where Metroid came from.
Thé eggs in thé miniatur look like adidas logo
No, Ridley killed Metroid's parents and ate their flesh.
Another weird fact, when swimming they actually hang upside down at slight angle, using the book gills on the underside to propel themselves.
I've actually heard about this fact, but it's still interesting
I think the way they swim(from what you’ve described) is similar to how isopods and I believe shrimps or lobsters do. Quite interesting to look at.
@@sorudesarutta huh. I just looked it up and I never knew that lobsters swam backwards before. I suppose many aquatic creatures would have to propel themselves in case of emergencies.
I have never seen a baby horseshoe crab before, they're so cute, thanks for this video!
You are welcome, Mikel.
They so cute =w=
I haven't seen a nature show in like 10 year's? This is such high quality, I almost thought it was CGI. Camera tech and lighting has surely matured.
Amazing.
Thanks Lance! Glad you are here.
Probably more.. 10 years ago was 2011. Yeah i say waay longer
@@famousbowl9926 Yeah, you're probably right!
@@lanceseidman hey i dont mean to assume like that but yeah time flies and doesnt seems like much has passed at time huh. Lol
Then you need to binge deep look, they never disappoint.
"Not everyone finds a date" i felt that on a spiritual lvl 🥲
Its funny watching everyone learn about these because as a Delawarian born and raised these dinosaurs were a part of our culture. We had feild trips to the beach to see them and to reseach centers about them.
Edit: I moved to Florida and whenever i leave Delaware and tell other Americans where im from everyone like "Wheres Delaware?" Or "They speak English where your from?" But since Biden everyone knows about Delaware now.
We also go to sandbars and they will crawl over your feet and you always know who the out of staters are when they start crying and think somethings got them!
WHOA ANOTHER DELAWARIAN >:0
I HAVE LEGIT NEVER SEEN ANOTHER ONE ONLINE
i didn't think we existed >:O
Eastern Shore of Virginia here👋🏽
You say Delawarian like it's some kind of mythical race like the elves xD jokes aside that's really cool
@@tuyiren781 That's not far off...
I can't get over how good the narration on these is. And the camera work. And the script. And topics. And literally everything else. I actually cannot find anything that they can do better.
Thanks Megakoresh! #inspo
When I was a young'un, growing up near Tampa, FL, my grandfather would take me to the beach a lot. Sometimes, you could see a stray horseshoe crab and my grandfather liked to collect the shells of the dead ones left on the beach. I was always scared of their huge spike-tail, but also very fascinated by them. All these years later, seeing them in videos like these piques my curiosity and brings me back to my childhood, and the youthful wonder I felt when I encountered these alien creatures.
Thank you for sharing, Edsabre.
@@KQEDDeepLook hey, is there any chance that Horseshoe crabs are direct descendants or atleast related to trilobites? Do they look like that because of convergent evolution?
@@raptorzilla0710 You have to check their organs their cells their dna and everything. and body parts. if you want to know their match (AKA ancestor) (or predecessor)
Fun fact: there are actually _four_ extant species of horseshoe crab! The other three are all native to Southeast Asia, which is why you don't hear about them as much as the Atlantic species.
Extant?
@@samanthaclaremejia7975 The opposite of extinct.
The texture and colors of their shells are incredible! Nature knows whats up
I remember I was at the beach of Florida while at vacation and seeing this strange big crab shells on the beach like after a war.
Apparently it was a crab arachnid that died during a storm and their carcasses had now washed ashore, was so surreal, never seen something like it back in Scandinavia, but our name for them translates to “dagger tail”
Interesting and apt name!
That's the literal meaning of the order's name, Xiphosura! (Xiphos = sword, ura = tail).
I should not have watched this right after watching the facehuggger scene in Alien.
I have eat this before. It taste realy weird.
Oh god @SYAHMI MISNAN isnt this endangered?
@@helenaandyou-chansreverse7925 at my place no. Its too many
@@syahmimisnan1734 oh ok
@@helenaandyou-chansreverse7925 what ok
Awe, I love horseshoe crabs!
they are alein looking
Horseshoe crabs are some of the most underrated animals in existence, really hyped to learn more about ‘em!
Kurzgesagt and Deep look posted video in the same day
Yep, today is a good day
They look like aliens! So cool! Also, aren't they being harvested for their special blood? Are they endangered?
Hi Harini - They are indeed heavily impacted by harvesting for their (blue) blood, which is used in testing safety in medical applications.
Edit: They ARE endangered. Though not just due to the blood harvesting. Their blood is harvested, as already confirmed, but generally actually killing them is avoided when doing that. I think some portion does die from the process.. But the majority is returned back to the sea to recover. The real problem is habitat destruction and consuming them as food.
Have you seen any aliens before?
@@kimkardashi-un2004 No, I meant that they look like the aliens that they show in movies
@@MentalEdge Nobody knows if they actually survive the process. They just drop them in the ocean and leave. They all most likely die, hence their severely reduced numbers
Who could have thought that a living fossil would be this cute! Thanks for the insight too!
I love watching deep look at 3am
Welcome!
Thanks for putting a spot light on one of the few of Delaware's natural wonders. U guys do amazing work.
Our pleasure!
When the horseshoe crab is flipping over it reminds me of robot wars.
I can see that.
Such high quality for free
Props to deep look❤️❤️
5 minutes ago! Can't wait to learn another creature again lol
You will have to wait a couple weeks. :-) Our next episode will be about the San Francisco Forktail Damselfy - but don't tell anyone! :-)
@@KQEDDeepLook that's very intresting😍
Hope to see who they look like
@@KQEDDeepLook Hm seems interesting! I'll be look forward to watch it! Mean while I'll go google what they look like
This gives a whole new meaning to the song "the tide is high and I'm holding ooon"😄
Crabalious content Deep Look!
Thanks Justin!
1:24 - "You look like a dinner plate" would sound like a rare insult with many layers
Whenever Deep Look releases ANY VIDEO, I already know its gonna be some high quality goodness
Aww I've never seen them as babies, so cute.
Also, for some reason it nevr crossed my mind that they're yet another marine animal that lays eggs on land, like the sea turtle. Though I wonder why that is, my guess is that it's a similar reason to the turtles and their eggs are more adapted for dryer environments since their ancestors were land dwellers as well, though I may be totally wrong about that.
Interesting observation, it does remind me of turtles as well. The Chelicerata (subphylum containing the horseshoe crab) originated in the water, however.
Good question - several years ago we did an episode about the grunion fish, who also lay their eggs on the sand: ua-cam.com/video/j5F3z1iP0Ic/v-deo.html
Amazing camera work as always! I liked the shots with the larvae lit up from behind--you could easily pick out the detail in those tendrils around their heads.
Also, it's interesting to know that their tails (telsons) are used like that. It reminds me of how robots sometimes have self-righting arms that flip backwards in the same way.
Glad you enjoyed it! Shout out to Kevin Collins, who was our cinematographer for this episode! Michael Werner from the show Overview provided the stunning drone shots as well.
Some of my favourite animals, they're straight out of the prehistoric era! Amazing how much effort you put into shooting all this!!
It's amazing how these creatures were able to survive more than 400 million years, despite all the changes in the environment and other creatures during this period of time, they are really magnificent.
Thank you very much for these unique and inventive videos.
"which looks like a little boxing glove with a hooked finger"
Yeah, it really does
“Which is a signal for predators to f*** off”
3:00 *FOLLOW THE QUEEN*
One of my favourite channels on nature...these crabs has helped humans so much, there's no way to thank them enough then to let them mate in peace...
they aren't crabs actually.They more like spiders actually.They look to similar to the ancestors of all the arachnids.
man do be spinning in it's egg
Yay🥳🌻 New Deep look video ❣️
It always makes me so happyyy ❤️🌻
Love from India🌺💞
*_Ah yes, another quality educational video!_*
More to come!
Here on Long Island we have these all over the place! It’s incredible how long they’ve been around. Great video!
The coolest part was seeing how the transparent babies are a greenish blue hue, probably because of their blood!
Great observation!
Fun fact: Their blue blood is one of the most expensive liquid in the world.
great video! horseshoe crabs are one of my favorite animals ❤️
Amazing job! I never knew how these worked! Know I am the nature king of my family because of you! Thank you 😊
they look so goofy it’s cute 😭
This looks fascinating! Love your content
Glad you enjoy it!
I didn’t expect them to effectively look exactly like their adult forms…
Every video of this channel is a blessing
I love every video you guys put out. They are so unrelentingly high quality
This is so good and your voice is so so soothing... Waiting for next episode as usual
This so interesting love youre videos!!❤
By the way im excited about something francisco ;)
Thank you Ariel! The upcoming SF forktail damselfly episode is going to be a fun one!
This is my first time see horseshoe crab eggs and how they mate. Thanks to this, I learned a lot about them.
They deserve to be here half a billion times more than us!
Cute widdle cwabs :)
IKR?
Ain't they endangered bcoz of their blood 🥺
They are indeed heavily impacted by harvesting for their (blue) blood, which is used in testing safety in medical applications.
"As a result of overharvesting for use as food, bait and biomedical testing, and because of habitat loss, the American horseshoe crab is listed as Vulnerable to extinction and the tri-spine horseshoe crab is classified as Endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species"
Thank you for the details, Ben.
It's less the bloodletting and more the conch fishermen using them for bait.
@@benm1414 u just said millions in the video now its over harvesting? since when white people become indians now hahahh
Awww, I love horseshoe Crabs!
It’s awesome that this happens in my state!
I remember being a kid and going to Cape Henlopen State Park and seeing these living legends. They are sooo cool!
Wow, it’s amazing to see the embryos insides the eggs~💞
Thank you for sharing this video~🤗
I love these exotic crustaceans! Weird and cool looking!
We agree!
They are no crustaceans. They are arachnids.
@@buffalobill4216 ok, thought they were like a species of crabs or something, thx for letting me know
*Xiphosurans. The group they belong to is the sister group to the one where all arachnids belong.
Wow I just learned so much, thanks alot deeplook!!! 😊
Glad to hear it RJ!
Great content……I love how these awesome creatures are millions of years old and still going strong 😎
Respect to this animal who seen it all. Dinosaurs come and go. Them stayed.
🦜 "Am I a joke to you?"
Can you make a cat crush from your 3D model of the cats tongue??? I watched that video and ever since I’ve wanted a brush using the cat tongue 3D model. It collected cat fur so easily in that video, and no brushes collect it very well. Sell it and make a profit.
2:46 ouch, that hits a little close to home
I love the feeling I get when I look at creatures like Horseshoe Crabs. It's like looking 500 million years into the past.
So cool to see! I recently got to work with these guys and take care of them as part of an internship, and they’re amazing! Working with the babies had to be the best part. It kills me how they’ve been on the decline, becoming endangered and how fishermen use them for bait. I don’t think many know how important these are to the ecosystem (+ our medical system!!) and how they really need to be protected.
Surveying beaches in my local region and coming up empty handed or finding husks was discouraging at times, though there were places I found many molts and even a pair attached for breeding. I try to hold onto hope that we will be able to help them bounce back in population but I don’t think that will happen until we have proper legislation in place to protect them, such as barring them for use as bait for fishing.
These along with triops, and shrimp are my absolute favorite animals. Absolute units of evolution.
Waaaa! Horse crabs are so interesting! I’d love to see more of them.
horseshoe crabs are awesome. they are like real life Pokémon.
I love horseshoe crabs from as a kid back east back when. I knew nothing of their life, this was fun to see.
Beautiful footage, as always! It is so exciting to see a side of horseshoe crabs that is never really revealed, I had not seen a larval horseshoe crab before.
Ikr
Those were such amazing shots of the horseshoe crab larvae!
Literally just got to pet a horseshoe crab yesterday at my local aquarium, such interesting creatures
I remember checking these things out by a beach when I was younger. Cool creatures!
One of my favorite Pokémon of all time … the Kabuto Kabutops line
great video, as always
They are amazing!
Baby face huggers are so cute!
Remember what coyote Peterson said “if you ever see a horse shoe crab just flip it”
Best nature films channel ever.
This is what I call quality content
'Similiar strategy used by grunion. How fascinating that these creatures are so tuned to the mechanisms of tides and lunar clues. Nice video Deep Look! 👍
My god I completely forgot grunions existed lol
My gosh these are living fossils! True fighters! I am in pure awe.
I hope you guys can dedicate an episode for a behind-the-scenes at these amazing macro shots!
Incredible takes and shots !
The babies looks so cute!!
Watching this in 4k is a treat
One zooms in and one zooms out. Both are from PBS. My world is now complete.
Hello blue bloods. This is so informative. Love it!
You can't sneak those Metroid vibes past me, Seth! A good choice for such a strange and unique animal, though.
I love Deep Look, they always post interesting videos
Something I love thinking about is how developing organisms look vaguely like what the animal evolved from
They are just so cute!
Please make more videos about sea creatures, they absolutely fascinate me!
Yo I’m from delaware and I remember learning about horseshoe crabs when I was younger and finding them fascinating.
This is a wonderful video and thanks for the class
Great narration and visuals