Limulus polyphemus (lat.- Xiphosura) The Xiphosura are an order of marine chelicerates that includes a large number of extinct lineages and only four extant species in the family Limulidae, which include the horseshoe crabs. The group has hardly changed in millions of years; the modern horseshoe crabs look almost identical to prehistoric genera such as the Jurassic Mesolimulus, and are considered