You are purchasing 1 horseshoe crab shell molts. Horseshoe crabs grow by molting, not from an expired animal as horseshoe crabs shed their shell at least once a year as they grow into adulthood. As a Horseshoe Crab matures and increases in size, it will shed its old exoskeleton (outer shell or skeleton) and form a new, bigger one, leaving its old shell behind on the bottom of the bay. The animals increase in size by 25-30% with each molt and females molt on average 17 times before reaching adulthood and their final molt.
You will receive the shell pictured. They all have their legs and some of their gills attached. Please refer to the pictures. I have taken pictures without flash. The last picture shows what their underside look like. All the shells have been washed and dried but there may still be some sand left inside as it is quite impossible to remove all of the sand:) Great for a sea life collections, teaching purposes, beach decor or craft.
