2. Limulus is marine found in muddy bottom, 4 to 12 meters deep, partly buried and crawling in sand for food.
3. It inhabits eastern coast of Asia and its island and eastern coast of North American from Nova Scotia to Florida. It has restricted and discontinuous distribution.
4. Body is differentiated into into a board horseshoe-shaped prosoma and a small nearly triangular opisthima. Body regions are cephalothorax, abdomen and a long spike like telson or tail.
5. Prosoma is covered by a large semicircular carapace and joined to opisthosoma by a broad hinge. The prosomatic appendages are first pair of chelate chelicerae, while 2 to 7 segments bear a pair of chelate walking legs each.
6. Carapace also bears one pair of median and two large composite sub-dorsal or lateral eyes.
7. Opisthosoma comprises of six segments, the mesosoma, a vestigial metasoma and a long spine like telson. Mesosoma contains 6 mains and chelate.
8. Chelicerae are 3-jointed small and chelate.
9. Legs are biramous and the last pair are not paddle-shaped.
10. Young are plankton larvae.
Source:
1. Practical Zoology Invertebrates by S.S.Lal. 2. A Manual of Practical Zoology Chordates by Dr. P.S. Verma.
