Life History and Behaviour

What do the eggs of horseshoe crabs look like?

A fertilized egg
(Taiwan Academia Sinia, Institute of Zoology)

Eggs of horseshoe crabs are small green spheres. Fertilized eggs usually take about a month to develop and an embryo is folded inside an egg. Once hatch, the baby horseshoe crabs will swim around in the shallow intertidal areas and then settle to the bottom and molt.

Horseshoe crab embryos
(Taiwan Academia Sinia, Institute of Zoology)

Eggs of horseshoe crabs
(the yellowish green spheres)
(Taiwan Academia Sinia, Institute of Zoology)

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