 You live with them almost everyday, even in the very cold winter months! They are everywhere and are the largest animal phylum -- about 85% of all known animals in the world are part of this class.  They are spiders, insects, centipedes, mites, ticks, lobsters, crabs, shrimp, crayfish, krill, barnacles, scorpions and many, many others.

Arthropods are some of the most interesting animals in the world! They fly, they creep, and they crawl. They live on land, in ponds and in the ocean. From ants to bumblebees, crabs to crayfish, spiders to centipedes -- which are your favorites!?

 jointed body segments  jointed limbs  exoskeleton

Jointed Appendages Jointed legs give arthropods more mobility on dry land than mollusks and worms have.

Segmented Bodies Arthropod body segments are more specialized than annelid segments, so arthropods enjoy a greater range of possible activities and behaviors than do segmented worms.

Exoskeleton The arthropods' exoskeleton reduces water loss from their bodies much better than the annelids' cuticle and the mollusks' thin skin.

 Arachnids  Chilopoda  Insecta  Diplopoda

ARACHNIDS  Spiders, mites, ticks, etc. INSECTA  Insects

CHILOPODA  Centipedes DIPLOPODA  Millipedes

The End