Horseshoe Crab

horseshoe-crabLiving fossils. Just their very appearance looks like something pre-historic. But, if you’ve been to the Atlantic Ocean along the eastern shores of the US, you may have encountered a horseshoe crab. They are one of the oldest living species on the planet – believed to date back 450 million years. And, while they resemble crabs, they are actually in the phylum arthropoda, the same phylum as spiders and even butterflies.

Although only black and white, this vintage horseshoe crab drawing is thankfully in the public domain. Most countries in the world consider the 1911 Encyclopedia to be copyright free.

 

This image is copyright free and in the public domain anywhere that extends copyrights 70 years after death or at least 120 years after publication when the original illustrator is unknown.