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Arthropod Notes
Arthropod Characteristics
 “anthron”
= joint
 “podos” = foot
 segmented body
 tough exoskeleton
 jointed appendages.
Growth
Exoskeleton – suit of
 armor that protects
 and supports the body.


Molting:
 Skin glands digest inner part of exoskeleton. Other
glands make a new skeleton
 Animal sheds old exoskeleton.
 While the new exoskeleton is soft, the animal fills
with air or fluid to allow room for growth before
skeleton hardens.
Life Functions
Respiration
Feather-like gills
Circulation
Open circulatory system
Response
Brain/sophisticated sense
organs
Movement
Muscles
1. Crustaceans
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Examples: shrimp, crabs
and lobsters. 150,000
species.
2 pairs of branched
antennae
2 or 3 body sections
Chewing mouthparts.
Dominate group of
arthropods in the ocean.
Coconut crab
2. Horseshoe
Crabs
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living fossil
Blue blood because
it has copper in it.
200 flattened gills
(book gills)
The medical profession uses an extract from the
horseshoe crab's blue, copper-based blood
called lysate to test the purity of medicines
the tail is used to plow the crab through the sand,
to act as a rudder, and to right the crab when it
accidentally tips over.
Female lays 20,000 eggs in the sand and the
male fertilizes them.
3. Sea Spiders
Spiders – feed on sea anemones
 Most are tiny and
crawl on sessile
plants and
animals.
 Sea
4. Insects
 dominate
group of arthropods on land