Horseshoe crab meat

Horseshoe crab meat

(Jiayou materia medica)

[source] it is the meat of Tachypleus orientalis.

[animal morphology] horseshoe crab, also known as horseshoe crab (Guangzhi).

The body is about 70 cm long and 30 cm wide. All of them are dark brown. The head, chest and abdomen are covered with a hard shell. There are three longitudinal ridges on the back, one in the center, one pair at the front, and one pair at each side. There are six pairs of appendages on the ventral surface, except for the first pair of stings, which are composed of three segments, the other limbs have six segments; the second pair is foot whiskers, the larvae and females are pincerlike, and the male has a hook at the end. The other four pairs of foot were located on both sides of the mouth. There were barbs on the basal segment, and the last segments of the first three pairs were forceps. There are six pairs of plate-shaped appendages on the abdomen. The appendages are bipedal. The inner limbs are slender and the outer limbs are wide. The first pair of appendages are healed on the left and right, and there is a pair of genital foramen under them. The other five pairs of outer limbs have a pair of leafy gills behind them. There is a strong sword like object under the abdomen, which is called the sword tail.

They live in the sand on the sea floor and feed on worms and mollusks in the sea. It is distributed in Fujian and Guangdong.

The shell, tail and gall of this animal are also used for medicine. Please refer to the special article for details.

[flavor] spicy, salty, flat.

① Meng Shen: "flat, slightly toxic. "

② "Materia medica: pungent, nontoxic. "

③ "Compendium": "Xin Xian, Ping, slightly toxic. "

[function and indications] Meng Shen: "it can cure hemorrhoids and kill insects. "

[should avoid] Meng Shen: "eating too much, coughing and sore ringworm. "