# ID this sea creature I found washed up on the beach **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 1, 2006, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-sea-creature-i-found-washed-up-on-the-beach/366953 "2006-08-01T23:53:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mississippienne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d2c977/32.png) [@Mississippienne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mississippienne)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2006, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-sea-creature-i-found-washed-up-on-the-beach/366953/1 "2006-08-01T23:53:36Z")
Today, while walking along the beach of Gulfport, MS I came across an odd-looking, dead sea creature washed up on the sand. Only the hard parts were left, the soft bits had probably been eaten away. It was black, with a round carapace longer than my foot and bigger around than my spread hand. On the back end (or what I’m assuming was the back end) it had spiny horns and a thin tail. I didn’t see any claws or pinchers. What could this creature be? Some sort of Cthulhu-esque monstrosity? ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2006, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-sea-creature-i-found-washed-up-on-the-beach/366953/2 "2006-08-02T00:00:20Z")
> [@Mississippienne](#): > > Today, while walking along the beach of Gulfport, MS I came across an odd-looking, dead sea creature washed up on the sand. Only the hard parts were left, the soft bits had probably been eaten away. It was black, with a round carapace longer than my foot and bigger around than my spread hand. On the back end (or what I’m assuming was the back end) it had spiny horns and a thin tail. I didn’t see any claws or pinchers. What could this creature be? Some sort of Cthulhu-esque monstrosity? A horseshoe crab. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2006, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-sea-creature-i-found-washed-up-on-the-beach/366953/3 "2006-08-02T00:18:52Z")
Yes, I’d say it sounds like a horseshoe crab (which apparently is not actually a crab at all and is more closely related to spiders) ---
**Author:** ![elelle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f0a364/32.png) [@elelle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elelle)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2006, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-sea-creature-i-found-washed-up-on-the-beach/366953/4 "2006-08-02T01:27:50Z")
It sure sounds like a horseshoe crab, but a little [out of range](http://www.ocean.udel.edu/horseshoecrab/History/pastpresent.html). It’s normally found in the Florida panhandle, but not far west. Who knows what kind of turbulent washup from the last fall’s storms brought in though. I remember grabbing on to their tails as a kid on Long Island, and dragging them up from the water. They really look prehistoric, very cool, like trilobites. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2006, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-sea-creature-i-found-washed-up-on-the-beach/366953/5 "2006-08-02T02:23:35Z")
[Horseshoe crab](http://www.udel.edu/PR/UDaily/2004/hcrab404lg.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2006, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-sea-creature-i-found-washed-up-on-the-beach/366953/6 "2006-08-02T02:29:39Z")
If it looked like Klingon’s head, it was a horseshoe crab (which isn’t a crab, btw). ---
**Author:** ![Mississippienne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d2c977/32.png) [@Mississippienne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mississippienne)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2006, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-sea-creature-i-found-washed-up-on-the-beach/366953/7 "2006-08-02T04:51:03Z")
Yeah, I think it was a horseshoe crab. It looks like the ones in those pictures. I read on wikipedia that horseshoe crabs are dwindling in numbers, and that you should ‘roll it over’ if you happen upon a live one that’s been tipped on it’s back so it can’t right itself. I would’ve rolled it over if it’d still been alive. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Eleusis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Eleusis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleusis)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2006, 10:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-sea-creature-i-found-washed-up-on-the-beach/366953/8 "2006-08-02T10:08:09Z")
BTW horseshoe crabs are totally harmless… if you see a live one you can pick it and inspect it without fear of getting bitten or pinched or stung. ---
**Author:** ![Mississippienne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d2c977/32.png) [@Mississippienne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mississippienne)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2006, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-sea-creature-i-found-washed-up-on-the-beach/366953/9 "2006-08-07T01:00:50Z")
So today at 7:30pm I was strolling down the same beach where I found the dead horseshoe crab. I see another laying on the sand on its back. Tentatively, I reached out and gave it a good poke with my shoe and _holy shit it was alive_!!! :eek: I yelled, “Hold on, bud!” and found a stick to shove him over on his belly. I then used the stick (I know they’re not poisonous, but I still didn’t want to touch him) to push him down towards the water. Me and the horseshoe crab, working together, got him down to the shallow water from about six feet up on the beach. I could see his little legs wiggling under his armor, and his little tail waved back and forth as he _scrunched_ his way down. Once I got him good in the water, I figured him and the tide could take it from there. I said to him, “Now swim on back to Florida and make little horseshoe crabs,” wished him good luck, and took my leave. I hope this is good karma so if I come back as a horseshoe crab in my next life, and I’m laying helpless on a beach, someone will come around and flip me over.