Wildlife officials address horseshoe crabs washing up on beaches

What might look like a massacre of horseshoe crabs lining Massachusetts beaches recently isn’t as gruesome as it seems, state officials say.

After concerned residents in Falmouth, Weymouth, and Nahant reported an unusual number of dead horseshoe crabs on local beaches, the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries confirmed the crabs weren’t dead.

“It’s OK,” the state agency wrote on Facebook, “the horseshoe crabs are just molting!”

Due to the molting, their exoskeletons are washing up on the beaches, according to the Division of Marine Fisheries. Peak horseshoe crab molting season is the late summer and early fall, so beachgoers should expect to see the exoskeletons cast off by horseshoe crabs as they grow.

“To tell the difference between a dead crab and a molt, look for a slit along