Philippine researchers have confirmed the presence of horseshoe crabs in the southern island province of Tawi-Tawi for the first time through interviews with local residents. Previously, scientists had recorded the arthropods’ existence only in the country’s Palawan province. In a recent study, fishers and coastal residents described two distinct horseshoe crab species with features resembling those of the tri-spine horseshoe crab (Tachypleus tridentatus) and the mangrove horseshoe crab (Carcinoscorpius rotundicauda). The tri-spine horseshoe crab is listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List. Meanwhile, the mangrove horseshoe crab is listed as data deficient, meaning not much is known about its conservation status. Ivane Pedrosa-Gerasmio, the corresponding author of the study and an associate professor in marine sciences at the Mindanao State University – Iligan Institute of Technology in the Philippines, said locals told her about seeing horseshoe crabs when she visited a market in Bongao, the capital of Tawi-Tawi, in December 2023. Pedrosa-Gerasmio told Mongabay she shared the news with her student Quesie Tolero Omnos, and together they decided to investigate further.   “I saw an opportunity to establish baseline information that could support future research and science-based conservation initiatives for horseshoe crab species,” Omnos told Mongabay. Pedrosa-Gerasmio, Osmos and their colleagues decided to rely on the people who best know the coastal areas. The scientists talked with 142 residents across four municipalities in Tawi-Tawi about where they had seen horseshoe crabs, how frequently, what they thought of the horseshoe crabs’ population changes, and how they collected and consumed the…This article was originally published on Mongabay

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