So it turns out that, based on new fossil evidence discovered by a team of Canadian scientists, the horseshoe crab has existed, in more or less it's modern form, for at least 445 million years.
Now, evolution doesn't pick sides, but that's pretty decent. Let's go over some highlights.
The horseshoe crab got its start during the time of the trilobite. They appear very similar, and some have suggested that they are closely related. But regardless, trilobites died out, and the horseshoe crab endured.
Sea predators began to get bigger and nastier, but the horseshoe crab lived on. Dinosaurs came to dominance on land. The mighty tyrannosaurus perished. The mighty brachiosaurus perished. The mighty stegosaurus perished, but the horseshoe crab endured.
It survived through ice ages and global warmings, clinging to its highly successful evolutionary niche.
So, let's give a big hand to the horseshoe crab!
Now for a shirt plug. This design is hot off the presses. The horseshoe crab has won the evolutionary lottery for over 400 million years, but most people will never know, because The Evolution Will Not Be Televised. And that's our shirt for the day:
By the way, read all about the new fossil horseshoe crab find at ScienceDaily:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080207135801.htm
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