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OorPancake t1_j1nrh2e wrote

They're the kind of creatures that wouldn't surprise me if they acted like nothing had happened to them when they naturally thaw out.

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Spooky_Noodle_ OP t1_j1nsxxg wrote

Replying to DirtySeuss414 (#1,062,448)

The scientist in me has to tell you that I am very confident in that a horseshoe crab would not survive this. Freeze tolerance is pretty rare, and there aren't any spiders (horseshoes crab modern day relatives) that can survive being frozen for a long period of time like this guy. Not to mention it's out been out of the water for a while by now.

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Spooky_Noodle_ OP t1_j1oh9ez wrote

Replying to Budget-Boysenberry (#1,064,882)

They are technically edible but they are rarely eaten. There's very little meat on them, they're mostly shell and more similar to spiders than crabs. The meat is supposedly rubbery. It's more common to eat their eggs especially in Asian countries but they have to be properly prepared or they can be toxic.

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kegareta69 t1_j1orcqi wrote

most likely still alive, leave him alone

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wtf81 t1_j1oyjze wrote

I live very close to that resort and am currently where there would be frozen horseshoe crabs in Massachusetts. This seems to be an incredible coincidence.

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HellsMalice t1_j1p9e8n wrote

I have no clue what they actually look like so my headcanon is that spike is his giant crab dong

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Spooky_Noodle_ OP t1_j1pastt wrote

I posted a picture of the other side for anyone who's interested

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Loki_the_Trustworthy t1_j1pe2la wrote

Replying to OorPancake (#1,062,391)

It's anecdotal but I had a gradeschool teacher who claimed to have found a frozen one that he brought home to keep its exoskeleton. He left it outside to thaw while he did some errands and came home to find his dog losing his shit because the thing was alive and running around in his backyard. I think he said he took it back to the river afterward.

Dude was a pretty sincere guy who doesn't strike me as the type to make something like that up, so I personally take it as true. I'd say there's a non-0% chance the one in OP's pic is alive.

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tanyyawangg t1_j1pj4gp wrote

It’s probably just it’s shedded shell not the crab itself. The live on the ocean floor so I doubt it’s common to see them.

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pusillanimouslist t1_j1pp3kt wrote

Replying to Saoirsenobas (#1,069,670)

Not sure who downvoted you, but you’re half right. We do harvest them for blood for medical purposes, but they’re supposed to return them and the expected fatality rate is pretty low, and the total numbers taken for blood is way less than those taken for bait and food.

That being said, the process of collecting their blood is in decline. There are synthetic alternatives that are beginning to replace the crab blood route.

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LonelyPalpitation176 t1_j1ps1qh wrote

Where is it horseshoe crabs live in seashore which are not that cold it's unnatural.

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Wingsofthepegasus t1_j1ptiow wrote

Off topic but I totally recognise the ski tag / pass. Used to live in that area lol

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newguestuser t1_j1pyx1e wrote

Replying to tanyyawangg (#1,069,997)

Actually quite commonly seen at specific times as the ocean floor meets land at the beach. Fun to watch tourists freak out seeing the live at teh shoreline as they can look a little scary. From Google:

Limulus polyphemus is internationally listed as vulnerable. During full moons, new moons, and high tides in May and June, hundreds of thousands of horseshoe crabs converge on the Delaware Bay to breed.

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lgary t1_j1q294k wrote

You took a horseshoe crab skiing last February 18th?

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DarknoorX t1_j1q6e8h wrote

That's one crabby tasting popsicle.

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0111011101110111 t1_j1q94j1 wrote

But did your tongue stick to it. That’s really what we all want to know.

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Saoirsenobas t1_j1q9pdr wrote

Replying to pusillanimouslist (#1,070,566)

I worked in a lab researching this a few years ago.. our studies found fatalaty rates of bleeding and transport around 33% at the time. Also the amount of blood you can collect is proportional to their size so companies were deliberately collecting females which are larger, causing extremely skewed sex ratios in the surviving wild populations (10 males: 1female). Also the synthetic substitutes are nowhere near commercially viable but the research is promising.

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bear_U32 t1_j1qfcaz wrote

Wow and outside is freeze like south Atlantic Ocean gifgifgifgifgif

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sonicjesus t1_j1qjk56 wrote

Yeah, that one's broken. Probably already dead, and the fermenting gasses caused it to float.

This time of year they winter over deep in the sea, as far as 600 feet below the water surface.

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Loki_the_Trustworthy t1_j1r98sq wrote

Replying to HighColdDesert (#1,070,491)

I don't know much about them myself, so I'm not sure. If they can't survive in both, it could be he found it at the mouth of a river on the coast and didn't realize the need for saltwater himself, but I really don't remember the fine details. He was an elementary school teacher I had nearly 20 years ago, so the memory isn't fresh by any means.

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rmmiz1 t1_j1tzbhb wrote

Replying to Aldoine (#1,067,638)

I remember studying for the UK citizenship exam.

For their scientific contributions, they tried to take credit for work done in international collaborations in Canada and Switzerland (when one team member had UK citizenship).

All the while, neglecting their own truly remarkable contributions to science, such as cryogenic freezing of hamsters and reanimation via microwaves.

It was truly sad, to see a people with such profound ignorance of of some of their best contributions to science, and such profound vanity and lack of self-awareness that they thought trying to claim credit for work supported by other nations was a good idea.

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