From Out of the Past - Part I

      Prior to the mid 1700s, horseshoe crabs were known by several different and quite common names.  These included “swordtail crab,” “saucepan crab,” “king crab” (frequently spelled “King Crabb”«), “piggy-back crab,” and “horsefoot crab” – its most common common name.  According to some scholars, it was referred to as “horsefoot” simply because its shape and the shape of a horse’s foot were quite similar (One can only imagine what it would have been called if it resembled the hindquarters of that same horse).  It wasn’t until 1758 when it acquired its now permanent and appropriately scientific title – Limulus polyphemus.
     I am certain that the biologists who first named this critter meant well, but they may have been just a little overly descriptive.  For example, Limulus means “a little askew or odd.”  You can just imagine a child with that name and the torture he would have to endure during recess time on the playground.  He would not be, as they say, a very happy camper.  And, to add further insult to that injury the critter’s species name – polyphemus – refers to the giant Cyclops of Greek mythology….  Living with a moniker that means “really weird creature with one eye” for a period of more than 350 million years is, indeed, a burden I would not want to carry throughout my evolutionary history.
     But, Limulus polyphemus it is.
     In more modern times the horseshoe crab has acquired an interesting array of names – some of which make sense, others which strain the bounds of credulity.  Here’s a chart of some Limulus monikers from around the world:

Kabutogani (meaning “horseshoe crab” in Japanese.  And, at least according to www.kabutogani.info “it is also a one-man electronic music project [whose] sound gets more and more abstract, using dry digital glitches along with textures and embryonic melodies.”  Which raises the question - Whatever happened to good old rock and roll?) Belangkas Rama-lakhania Canger jos cacerola Learning Fish Pan Crab Piggyback Crab Helmet Crab Stinky Crab

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« It seems as though the British have this odd linguistic habit of doubling their consonants in order to make certain words seem a little more important, a little more pretentious.  I find the practice quite annoying and wish they would stopp itt.

… Polyphemus was a man-eating giant with a single eye set in the middle of his forehead.  He loved the sea nymph Galateia, but since she was not into one-eyed men, she spurned his advances.  When he discovered her in the arms of another, he unceremoniously crushed the suitor beneath a rock (sore loser!).  The hero Odysseus later found himself trapped in Polyphemus’s cave.  Angry at the intrusion, the Cyclops began to devour Odysseus’s men (the original finger food, I suppose).  However, Odysseus (ever the clever one), systematically plied the Cyclops with cheap wine and while he slept Odysseus pierced his single eye with a burning stake (always an effective remedy when your host is bent on consuming those close to you).  The blinded Polyphemus tries to sink Odysseus' escaping ship with rocks, but failing in the attempt, begs his father (Poseidon) to avenge him.  I’m not sure, but this sounds a little like an old Arnold Swartzennegger movie to me.