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Arthropods. - Arthropods. Characteristics of Arthropods. Members of the largest arthropod groups differ in several characteristics. Body Plan description. Arthropods are invertebrates that have an external skeleton, a segmented body, and jointed attachments called appendages.
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- Arthropods Characteristics of Arthropods • Members of the largest arthropod groups differ in several characteristics.
Body Plan description • Arthropods are invertebrates that have an external skeleton, a segmented body, and jointed attachments called appendages. • They have bilateral symmetry, an open circulatory system, and a digestive system with two openings.
- Arthropods Crustaceans • A crustacean is an arthropod that has two or three body sections, five or more pairs of legs, and two pairs of antennae.
- Insects Body Structure • Insects are arthropods with three body sections, six legs, one pair of antennae, and usually one or two pairs of wings.
Obtaining Food • Arthropods have many ways of getting food. Some, such as spiders and centipedes, are predators that eat other small animals like insects. Many insects are herbivores, feeding on plants. Millipedes, many insects, and some crustaceans are scavengers. • Arthropods have mouthparts shaped to help them get the food that they eat. For example, mosquitoes have mouths shaped for sucking blood.
Obtaining Oxygen • Crustaceans live in water and have gills to obtain oxygen. • Insects and other arthropods get oxygen through breathing tubes in the sides of their body. Some insect larvae that live in the water have gills.
- Insects Life Cycle • An insect with complete metamorphosis has four different stages: egg, larva, pupa, and adult.
- Insects Life Cycle • An insect with gradual metamorphosis has no distinct larval stage. An egg hatches into a stage called a nymph, which usually looks like the adult insect without wings.
- Arthropods Links on Arthropods • Click the SciLinks button for links on arthropods.
- Insect Ecology Links on Insects • Click the SciLinks button for links on insects.