Books & Reading Material: The Horseshoe Crab Book List
Looking to expand your reading list? Need a gift for a friend who lives by the beach? Use the links below to discover some great book finds... they'll take you directly to a website where you can purchase them online.
Biology and Conservation of Horseshoe Crabs, edited by John T. Tanacredi, Mark L. Botton, David R. Smith
Written for Conservation biologists, ornithologists, ecologists and medical professionals, the Biology and Conservation of Horseshoe Crabs, offers proceedings from a ground-breaking 2007 international symposium at Dowling College on the science and conservation of the horseshoe crab. Horseshoe crabs are well-known as “living fossils” with a geological history covering hundreds of millions of years and an ancestry reaching back 455 million years to the doorstep of the Cambrian. In spite of this longevity, each species now faces common and growing threats. Loss of essential spawning habitat due to erosion and shoreline development, coastal pollution, and overfishing all threaten horseshoe crab populations. Symposium participants from around the world gathered to share knowledge, present research results, and identify conservation challenges facing horseshoe crabs. This shared international knowledge and experience is presented here as a beginning in our collective efforts to conserve the world’s horseshoe crab species. Throughout the book, the reader will find results of new studies, and authoritative reviews on the science and conservation of all four of the world’s horseshoe crab species. Copies of the proceedings can be found at Springeronline.com
The Watchers by Terry Moore
In the new children’s novella by Terry Moore, three lonely children learn about the strength of friendship, respect and devotion to something larger than their individual selves as they help save an endangered species and form a family of their own. Terry Moore’s moving, timely story shows us the plight of the horseshoe crab, and their importance to the health of the planet, through the eyes of children. This book can effectively bring the issues of pollution, ecology, and working together for change into classrooms and homes not only in New Jersey, but anywhere.
The American Horseshoe Crab edited by Carl Shuster
Carl N. Shuster, Jr., H. Jane Brockmann, and Robert B. Barlow are at the forefront of research on Limulus polyphemus, and in this book they bring together twenty scientists who have worked on all aspects of horseshoe crab biology to compile the first fully detailed, comprehensive view of the species. An indispensable resource, the volume describes the horseshoe crab's behavior, natural history, and ecology; its anatomy, physiology, distribution, development, and life cycle; the puzzle of its immune system; and its present management and future conservation. Published by Harvard University Press.
Crab Moon by Ruth Horowitz, illustrated by Kate Kiesler
Tells the story of a boy who visits the beach with his mother to watch the horseshoe crabs spawning, then returns the next morning and rescues a crab that has been stranded and left marooned on the beach. The New York Times cited Crab Moon as one of the ten best children's books of the year 2000, and the National Society of Teachers of Science designated it as an outstanding science trade book for children.
Limulus in the limelight: A species 350 million years in the making and in peril, edited by John T.Tanacredi.
Contains 14 chapters covering the horseshoe crab's biology, ecology and evolutionary development.
Extraordinary Horseshoe Crabs by Julie Dunlap
In a clear and engaging style, Extraordinary Horseshoe Crabs details the animals' anatomy, neurobiology, egg-to-adult development, evolutionary relationships, and ecological importance. It's the perfect resource for classroom investigations as well as individual explorations. This book will help you discover how crucial horseshoe crabs are to migrating shorebirds, and how people are working to help horseshoe crabs keep crawling into the future.
Trilobite : Eyewitness to Evolutionby Richard Fortey
320-page paperback that explores the paleontology of the trilobite. Great for anyone interested in how the planet was formed and how species developed.
Ribbons of Sand - Exploring Atlantic Beaches by Larry Points
Ribbons of sand looks at the beauty of beaches along the East and Gulf Coasts. Subjects include sand, seashore plants and animals, and beachcombing objects which are of common interest to children and their families. Environmental concerns of the sensitive seashore habitat are also explored.
Microscopic Anatomy of Invertebrates: Chelicerate Arthropoda (Vol. 8A) by Frederick W. Harrison and Rainer F. Foelix
Although gross and external anatomy are discussed in some detail, the emphasis of this work is consistently on functional invertebrate anatomy, particularly at the ultrastructural level. It does not remain limited to fundamental descriptions of anatomical structure but rather goes beyond that level to offer a compelling view of microscopic anatomy that relates structure to function in various organisms. Chapter two of this volume is dedicated entirely to Merostomata with remarkable images from W.H. Fahrenbach.
Crab Wars: A Tale of Horseshoe Crabs, Bioterrorism, and Human Health
by William Sargent
Scientist, entrepreneurs, and environmentalist collide in a battle over the horseshoe crab and the lucrative biotech industry based on its blood.