Question

Phylum Arthropoda
1. What features do all of these organisms have in common?
2. Why do these features allow arthropods to be such a successful group?
3. What are features that all of these insects share?
4. Describe the exoskeleton of the crayfish.
5. Describe the jointed appendages of the crayfish.

Answer 1

1. The arthropods despite having a large number and diversity share certain features and are common are Exoskeleton, bilateral symmetry, segmented appendages, and bodies with regions. The exoskeleton protects and allows the arthropods to sense, bilateral symmetry makes them same on both the sides.

2. The arthropods are a successful animal group because of the exoskeleton of the arthropods, diversified segmentation, diversification of appendages, and the advanced sensory system. The exoskeleton protects the soft body tissues and supports the muscles, the chitin present in the exoskeleton makes dessiccation less. the diversified segmentation creates a vast variety of insects ranging from spiders to ants. The diversified appendages result in purposeful usage and allow the arthropod to perform the various function. The sensory system has a compond eye which can detect UV, light, and color. This makes them sense the color of the flower.

3. The insects share the following characteristics:

• They all have an exoskeleton.
• The body is divided into three parts: head, thorax, and abdomen.
• They all have six legs and a pair of antennae.

4. The exoskeleton of crayfish is made up of chitin and calcium carbonate that surrounds, supports and protects the body of crayfish. The internal structures present on the exoskeleton are called apodemes which serves as the anchor point for muscles and they are six times stronger the tendons. The apodemes stretch themselves for the storage of elastic energy for the movements of the crayfish. The claws are actually the legs that get evolved into tools.