“O Lord, how manifold are Thy works ... the earth is full of Thy riches. So is this great and wide sea, wherein are things creeping innumerable” (Psa. 104:24-25)
The horseshoe or king crab is not a true crab but is more closely related to spiders and scorpions. Because it looks like a crab and lives in salt water, most people think of it as one of the crab species, failing to notice that it doesn't have the visible claws of true crabs.
Its name comes from the fact that when seen from the top its shell looks like a horse's hoof, and when seen from the bottom it looks like a horseshoe. The whole body is covered by the shell, with its mouth and claw-like legs up front and other parts narrowing down to a sharp, stiff tail about six inches long. (Indians used these tails in bygone days for spear points.) This tail is a help both in moving along the ocean bottom and in turning right side up when a wave or obstruction turns the crab upside down.
Every year its shell that has grown too tight is discarded and a new one grows in its place. A big shell can be more than a foot across. Four eyes appear atop the dome-shaped front of the shell-one on each side and a pair up front in the middle.
The back pair of legs (also under the shell) push the "crab" along the sand or mud and have stiff flaps to keep the crab from sinking into the sand. It moves rather quickly along the bottom in a "bobbing" manner, first raising up a little, then its legs and tail dig into the sand to push it along.
Its food includes sea snails, worms, mussels, oysters and clams. It is understandable that oyster and clam fishermen kill these crabs whenever they have opportunity, but there are always millions more to replace them.
Horseshoe crabs leave their winter homes in the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea in early summer, migrating north to islands off the Atlantic coast of America. There they work their way up the beaches to the high-water mark to scoop shallow, basin-like holes in the sand or mud. They lay from two to three hundred eggs in them, covering them over before returning to the sea. In a little over a month's time these eggs hatch out in great quantities, that is, any eggs that are not eaten. Hordes of birds have an instinct given by the Creator to know each year just when the migrating crabs have laid their eggs and are on hand to enjoy a great feast.
What a contrast was the response of David, the Psalmist, when he thought (as shown in the opening verse) about the wonders of God's creation, compared with those of whom the Bible speaks in Rom. 1:2121Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. (Romans 1:21), "When they knew God, they glorified Him not as God, neither were thankful." How happy it is to know the love of God and thank Him for His Son, the Savior of sinners. Are you a thankful one?