Austrolimulus (SciiFii)

The Australian river horseshoe crab (Austrolimulus novaehollandiae) is a species of xiphosuran, related to the horseshoe crabs, that originally lived from Brookvale, New South Wales of Australia during the Middle Triassic as and extinct species, Austrolimulus fletcheri, and was once extinct, but has since been brought back from extinction by SciiFii and introduced throughout the modern lakes, rivers, ponds, and wetlands across Australia to help boost biodiversity. The Australian river horseshoe crab has long spines on each side of its head, reaching a span of around 18 cm (7 inches), wider than its total body length, which are used for defense against potential predators. Those spines also acts like a hydrofoil in fast-moving currents. The Australian river horseshoe crab is an omnivore and consumes mollusks, worms, dead fish and algae. During the breeding season, Australian river horseshoe crabs migrate to shallower waters. The smaller male Australian river horseshoe crab clings to the back of the larger female using specialized front claws and fertilizes the eggs as they are laid in the sand or mud. Additional males called "satellite males" which are not attached to the female may surround the pair and have some success in fertilizing eggs. Young female horsecrabs can be identified by the lack of mating scars. The female can lay between 60,000 and 120,000 eggs in batches of a few thousand at a time. The eggs take about two weeks to hatch; shore birds and wading birds eat many of them before they hatch. The larvae molt six times during the first year and annually after the first 3 or 4 years. The conservation status of the Australian river horseshoe crab is Least Concern due to successful conservation efforts and the Australian river horseshoe crab's wide range.
Category:Animals
Category:Species
Category:SciiFii