450 million years of animals are endangered! This is not a dinosaurus rex, but a strange creature that even our ancestors have never met—the horseshoe crab (hòu).
When you hear the name, you're going to ask, "What's that?" It's flat, like a cake, and it's covered in hard armor, and it looks like a robot. And it also has a long and peculiar tail, which looks like a small snake from a distance, which is really a bit crazy! Don't be frightened by the surface, in fact, the horseshoe crab is a very ancient sea creature, which has been with the earth for 4.5 billion years, and it can be said that it has witnessed the vicissitudes of the earth.
Imagine what the world would have been like 4.5 billion years ago, dinosaurs had not yet appeared, and even the most primitive fish had just emerged. However, despite its strange appearance, you should not underestimate the horseshoe crab, as it is one of the few surviving "living fossils" on Earth. You must ask: What is a "living fossil"? This is not a Buddhist term, but a creature that has survived from ancient times to the present day, but its appearance has hardly changed.
Think about it, from the primeval period to the present, how many biological changes have been experienced, the earth's environment has changed, many species have evolved, and some have completely disappeared. Isn't it amazing that the horseshoe crab has always maintained its original appearance? What is the reason that the horseshoe crab has withstood the baptism of time and has survived to this day?
First of all, horseshoe crabs are super adaptable to their environment. It can withstand extreme temperatures, whether the environment is hot or cold, it can easily cope with it. And when there is a desperate danger everywhere, it will burrow into the mud and sand and hide. Besides, although the horseshoe crab is not small, it scares away most of its natural predators because of its ugly appearance, and basically no beast dares to provoke it. In addition, horseshoe crabs do not require much oxygen and can survive even if they are confined to a lack of oxygen.
However, the biggest secret of the horseshoe crab that has survived on Earth for hundreds of millions of years is its peculiar "blue blood". You must ask, "Is it true that blue blood is? How come I haven't seen it?" Indeed, the blood we are familiar with is red, but the blood of horseshoe crabs is pale blue, like the color of the sea. It turns out that horseshoe crabs contain blue copper protein, which is the color of the blood when copper and oxygen react chemically.
In addition to its special color, horseshoe crabs also have amazing disease resistance in their blood! Don't underestimate it, the environment in which horseshoe crabs live is so harsh that there are hundreds of millions of bacteria hidden in a drop of seawater. Any slight bacterial invasion can kill the horseshoe crab. However, there is a magical "cell" in the blood of the horseshoe crab, and once it finds a bacterium, it immediately goes out to show its skills and isolate the bacteria. Thanks to the protection of this "cell guard", the horseshoe crab has been able to live healthily until now.
However, it is precisely because of this "baby" on the horseshoe crab that it has unfortunately suffered all kinds of threats and injuries. And guess what? Relying on the unique disease resistance in the horseshoe crab's blood, mankind has developed the "horseshoe crab reagent," an important medicine that can effectively detect whether or not they are infected with bacteria! However, the price is not cheap, and it is sold for more than ten times the price of gold! In order to produce "horseshoe crab reagents" in large quantities, thousands of horseshoe crabs are taken away every year and forcibly "donated." Can you imagine the horseshoe crab being immobilized to a stage in the laboratory with a thick tube stuck in its stomach to draw blood?
What's even more terrifying is that in the process, a considerable number of horseshoe crabs lost their lives in this way. Even if you don't die, you will be sluggish and less energetic. In addition to being blood-drawn, horseshoe crabs face another major threat in our country – becoming a delicacy on the table. You must be wondering, "Who would eat such a weird-looking thing?" That's right, because it's so rare, it's eaten like a "tonic". But in fact, the meat of horseshoe crabs is harmful to the human body but not beneficial! Not only are you allergic to eating it, but you may even be poisoned and die.
Therefore, it is a pity that this rare treasure, which has lived for 4.5 billion years, is now on the verge of extinction because of its "blue blood" and physical body under human greed! Let's protect the poor horseshoe crab and let this unique life last forever. We need to raise awareness of the conservation of horseshoe crabs and try to hunt them as little as possible, secondly, we need to increase the number of horseshoe crabs in captivity to reduce the demand for wild horseshoe crabs, and finally, we need to find new alternatives to make "horseshoe crab reagents" from horseshoe crab blood.
The protection of horseshoe crabs is inseparable from the efforts of everyone. As long as we act, we can stop the crisis of horseshoe crabs being devoured alive. Let's work together to cherish this unique gift on earth and protect the right of horseshoe crabs to live. These 450 million years of life will have an even longer tomorrow!
Disclaimer: The information in this article comes from the Internet, which is not guaranteed to be completely correct and is for reference only.