Horseshoe Crabs: Merostomata

The young, or larvae (LAR-vee), do not feed until after they molt, or shed their outer skeleton, called an exoskeleton, for the first time. Adults and older larvae both eat almost any food items they find on the bottom and also attack clams and worms, or scrape algae (AL-jee), tiny plantlike organisms, off rocks. Horseshoe crabs lack jaws and instead use their legs to grasp and crush their food. Food is ground with spines at the bases of the crab's legs. In fact, the name Merostomata comes from the Greek words meros, meaning leg, and stoma, or mouth—referring to the role the legs play in chewing food.