Natural History Society of Maryland
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Fossil Club: Living Fossils, or Modern Wonders? Evolution of the Horseshoe Crab

When
02 Apr 2025
7:00 PM - 8:30 PM
Location
Natural History Society of MD, Online via Zoom

Registration

(depends on selected options)

Base fee:

Education for All
NHSM believes there should be no barriers to education. If you can’t pay, that’s okay. If you can pay, great. If you can pay more, please do, so this kind of education can continue.
Fossil Club Member
NHSM Member (Suggested Donation) – $5.00

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Often referred to as “living fossils”, horseshoe crabs have inhabited the Earth’s water for nearly half a billion years. They have survived all of our planet’s recorded mass extinctions, witnessed the rise and fall of the dinosaurs, and have done it all while maintaining more or less the same body plan. It’s easy to assume that horseshoe crabs have somehow evaded evolution. However, a closer look reveals that over hundreds of millions of years, horseshoe crabs have undergone changes alongside the ever-changing world.

Join Regan Todd, a naturalist at the DuPont Nature Center in Milford, Delaware, for a deep dive into the evolutionary history of horseshoe crabs. Explore how these ancient arthropods have stayed the same, how they’ve changed, and if they may be a lot more modern than we give them credit for.

This meeting of the NHSM Fossil Club will take place online. To get the Zoom link and passcode sent to you via email, register below, or contact the club coordinator (mfalk@marylandnature.org).

If you are interested in experiencing horseshoe crabs during spawning season, check out our upcoming field trip at https://marylandnature.wildapricot.org/event-6134514.

NHSM’s Fossil Club is a group of novice and more experienced collectors who meet to share knowledge and discuss fossil identification, fossil locations, and other fossil-related topics. Monthly meetings feature guest speakers both from within the club and from outside organizations. We also strive to schedule frequent collecting trips to various locations.

Although you don’t need to be a member to attend a meeting, membership gives you access to additional experiences. An annual NHSM membership is $35 for individuals, $50 for families; Fossil Club membership is an additional $5 for individuals and $10 for families.

If you are not yet a member of NHSM, click here to join. When you join as a new member, you can add the club membership(s) of your choice to your registration. Current NHSM members who wish to join any clubs should email the Club Coordinator at mfalk@marylandnature.org.

The Natural History Society of Maryland is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation and contributions are tax-deductible.

The mission of the Natural History Society of Maryland is to foster stewardship of Maryland’s natural heritage by conserving its natural history collections, educating its citizenry, and inspiring its youth to pursue careers in the natural sciences.