Research Development on Horseshoe Crab: A 30-Year Bibliometric Analysis

Abstract

This review provides the updated information and analysis of research development on horseshoe crabs over the past 30 years and raises some suggestions for future studies on horseshoe crabs. Horseshoe crab is a unique marine species and attracts many scholars in various research fields. However, to date, the development of horseshoe crab research has not been analyzed and reported from a bibliometric perspective. Bibliometric analysis is a unique tool for evaluating the development of a specific research area by analyzing relevant publications and researchers from all over the world. In this study, Web of Science, Google Scholar, and PubMed were used to collect relevant data on horseshoe crabs. VOSviewer software was used to visualize cooperation and major keywords in horseshoe crab research. From 1989 to 2019, scholars emphasized the physiological characteristics, medical value, and ecological conservation of horseshoe crabs. Some topics in this field have gradually developed because of some reasons explained in this review. Some important or recent studies have been discussed, and some potential research topics for future research have been suggested.