Knowing some examples of arthropods along with their meanings and some of their characteristics that we can know easily. This phylum is the largest kingdom in animals, more than 80 percent of the animals on earth come from the arthropod phylum.
Definition of Arthropod Animals
Arthropods are a phylum of animals with the most species in the world, their bodies are segmented, have layers of hookah, and most of their animals are insects. Arthropods can be found in various places, for example on land, in freshwater, and seawater.
In short, arthropods are the largest animal films in the world with bookish or segmented body characteristics. The term arthropod itself comes from the Greek word “Atheros” which means Books and the word “Podos” which means “Foot”.
Characteristics of Arthropod Animals
1. Booked/Segmented Body
Usually, the body has two or three segments that can be seen clearly, apart from the body the legs are also usually segmented.
2. Breathing with the External Body, Gills, to the Trachea
Depending on the type of animal, the arthropod phylum has a variety of respiratory organs, starting from the outer body (skin), and gills, to the trachea.
3. Body Bilateral Symmetry
Where the body parts are arranged, if you take a line from front to back, you will see the same body parts between the right and left. Bilateral symmetrical animals have an oral side (apex) and an aboral side, besides that, it has an upper side (dorsal) and lower side (ventral), then the head side, tail side, the side.
4. Has a layer of Kaitin
The next feature of arthropods is their exoskeleton, which is composed of protein compounds and hook in to protect and form the body’s skeleton.
5. Six or More Legs
This animal has at least 6 legs or it could be more depending on the type too. For example, a lobster has 5 pairs of legs.
Examples of Arthropod Animals
1. Scorpions
Scorpions belong to the order Scorpiones, one of the animals that have segmented legs, a segmented body, and 5 pairs of legs, 2 of which are arms with pincers. Currently, it is known that there are 2000 species of scorpions spread over the world.
This insect has a stinger on its tail and is a venomous or poisonous insect. The level of poison in scorpions varies depending on the type as well. When looking for food, scorpion poison is useful for paralyzing prey.
2. Spiders
Spiders are animals that we can easily find everywhere, especially in our environment. In general, spiders have 4 pairs of legs and 2 body segments, namely the head and body. Spiders are carnivores, sometimes they also prey on each other.
There are many types of spiders, but currently, there are 200 known species of spiders whose bites are dangerous and highly toxic. Most spiders can spin their webs to build nests or trap their prey
3. Butterfly
Butterflies are the complete metamorphosis of caterpillars. These insects can be found in places or habitats with lots of flowers. Butterflies are also important insects in the process of pollinating flowers.
The bodies of butterflies are segmented from the head to the abdomen, the legs are jointed, and they have wings, a variety of colors, and sucker mouthparts. Butterflies land on flowers to take nectar as a food source.
4. Honey Bees
Honey bees are a type of honey-producing bee, there are about 7 species belonging to the Apis genus, and in the APIs genus, there are 20 thousand species. But currently, 44 bee subspecies can produce honey. Honey bees can make nests in nature which are produced by worker bees, they live in colonies and these insects experience a perfect metamorphosis phase.
Honey bees are insects whose existence is very important in life because they can help pollinate flowers. In addition, the honey they produce can be used for various human food needs. Many people breed honey bees for honey production, and these insects have a stinger to defend themselves.
5. Lobsters
Lobsters are marine animals that belong to the family Homaridae or Nephropsidae. Lobsters eat living organisms such as small mollusks, marine invertebrates, and seaweed. Lobsters have a knuckle-bodied body, long antennae, have 5 pairs of legs, some of which have clamping arms, and the tip of the tail is like a fan.
Lobster is a sea animal that is very economically valuable, many people cultivate it because the price is quite expensive, and several types are included in luxury cooking ingredients.
6. Ants
The next example of an arthropod is an ant. If observed, ants have body parts according to the characteristics of the arthropod phylum. Ants have a hard exoskeleton and jointed legs. Then there are the body parts of the ants segmented from the head, thoracic cavity, and abdomen. Ants have many species, it is known that on earth there are about 12,000 species of ants, each of which has its characteristics.
7. Crab
Crabs are animals that are spread all over the world or sea water and fresh water, some types can survive on land. Like the crab which is a sea crab and rarely goes to the beach. Crabs vary in size, generally, they have 5 pairs of legs, two of which are clamping arms.
8. Shrimp
The next example of arthropods is shrimp, these animals are spread in the sea, rivers, and lakes, and have various types. Shrimp have five pairs of legs, compound eyes, and a segmented body, and shrimp are still in the same order as lobsters. Shrimp is often cultivated as a cooking ingredient because they are very valuable economically and some of them are used as aquarium decoration shrimp.
9. Dragonfly
Dragonflies including insects spread in various places such as in fields, forests, gardens, and even through water areas. Dragonflies have segmented bodies, jointed legs, round compound eyes, legs attached to the thoracic vertebrae, long transparent oval wings, a tail that is longer than the body which resembles a needle, and a large shiny head dragonfly. Dragonflies undergo an incomplete metamorphosis phase.
10. Horn Beetle
Examples of other Arthropod Animals are horn beetles or rhinoceros beetles. These insects are spread across mainland Asia, especially in Southeast Asia, including Indonesia. Horn beetles are included in the arthropod phylum because they have a segmented body characteristic from head to abdomen, with jointed legs.
Horn beetles when fully grown are black or dark brown. On the head there is a horn, the size of the male beetle can reach 130 mm while the female can reach 60mm. The size of the male and female horns is, of course, different, male beetles have long horns curved backward, while females are just like lumps and there are fine hairs at the end of their abdomen.