32.

1 Phylum Arthopoda

*vertebrates: spine
*invertebrates: no spine

Characteristics
• Jointed appendages [extensions of the body; include legs and antennae]
• Segmented body; a pair of appendages are attached to each segment
• Exoskeleton: hard external covering for protection and support
o Composed primarily of protein and chitin ( a tough carbohydrate)
o Three layers: [all three layers are secreted by an epidermis beneath them]
-waxy outer layer repels water and prevents desiccation in terrestrial species
-middle layer is primary protection (strengthened by materials such as calcium)
-inner layer is flexible at joints and allows the animals to move freely
• Ventral nervous system
• Open circulatory system
• Digestive system
• Specialized sensory receptors

Movement and Growth

• Muscles occur in bundles that attach to the inside of the exoskeleton on either side of the
joints
• By alternately contracting and relaxing the muscles, the arthropod in essence operates a
system of levers that move the body parts and appendages
• Molting [also called ecdysis]
o Arthropods molt many times during their lifetime
o Exoskeleton cannot enlarge as the body does and therefore must be shed
periodically and a new one must be formed
o the tissues of the arthropod grow until they put a great deal of pressure on the
exoskeleton walls, a hormone is then produced that induces molting
o When arthropod begins molting, cells of epidermis secrete enzymes to digest
flexible inner layer of exoskeleton; simultaneously epidermis begins synthesizing
new exoskeleton, using mush of the digested material
o During this process outer layer of old exoskeleton loosens and breaks along
specific lines and is then shed
o The new exoskeleton is flexible at first and stretches to fit
o Arthropods usually go into hiding until their new exoskeleton has hardened
because during molting the arthropod is vulnerable to predators due to lack of a
hard shell; terrestrial arthropods are also susceptible to desiccation during molting
Evolution and Classification
• Inferred that arthropods evolved from a common ancestor because of exoskeleton and
jointed appendages; but suggested there are actually four separate lines of arthropod
evolution; now classified into four subphyla:
o Trilobita – includes extinct organisms called trilobites
o Crustacea – includes shrimp, lobsters, crabs, barnacles, cladocerans, ostracods,
crayfish, water fleas, and copepods
o Chelicerata – includes spiders, scorpions, ticks, mites, sea spiders, and horseshoe
crabs
o Myriapoda (Uniramia) – only group that seems to have evolved on land and
includes centipedes, millipedes, and all of the insects
• Members of the subphyla are primarily distinguished by differences in their
embryological development and differences in the morphology of structures such as
appendages and mouthparts
o Chelicerata – distinguished by absence of antennae and the presence of pincerlike
mouthparts called chelicerae
o Crustaceans – distinguished by presence of the branched antennae and chewing
mouthparts called mandibles
o Myriapoda (Uniramia) – also distinguished by having antennae and mandibles but
their appendages are unbranched [Uniramia means “one branch”]
• Despite the differences, the three subphyla of living arthropods have evolved similarly
o Ancestral arthropods had one pair of appendages per segment, but most living
species have fewer appendages than this
o The evolution of these groups shows a general tendency toward less segmentation
of the body: ancestral arthropods had many segments while most modern adults
have some segments fused together into larger structures with specialized
functions
32.2 Subphylum Crustacea
• Exoskeletons
• Include crayfish, lobsters, pill bugs, sow bugs, water fleas, and barnacles
• Mostly aquatic

Characteristics
• 2 pairs of antennae
• Mandibles
• Pair of appendages for each segment
• At least some are branched
• Large crustaceans (crayfish and lobsters) use gills to respire (breathe)
• Exoskeleton made of CaCO3 (calcium carbonate); therefore very hard
• Embryo is free-swimming larvae (“nauplius”)

Diversity
• Most are small
o Copepods
 no bigger than a comma
 inhabit surface waters of oceans, lakes, and streams
o Barnacles
 sessile (immobile)
 attach themselves to rocks, docks, pilings, boats, whales, turtles
 filter plankton from the water with 12 appendages called cirri
o Sow bugs and pill bugs
 are terrestrial
 7 identical pairs of legs
 called isopods (means “same feet”)
 live in damp areas where their gills can stay moist
Crayfish
• Order Decapoda (crayfish, lobsters, crabs, shrimp are decapods)
o decapods – 10 feet

External Structure
• body divided into 2 sections
o cephalothorax (13 segments)
1. head (5 segments)
• antennule: antennalike appendage with receptors for touch, taste,
and equilibrium
• antenna/antennae: an appendage specialized for touch and taste
• cheliped: a claw used to capture food and to provide defence
• mandible: moveable mouthpart that usually functions in chewing
• maxilla/maxillae: structure behind the mandibles that helps hold
and cut food
• maxilliped: a specialized appendage used to hold food
2. thorax (8 segments)
• walking legs
3. carapace: covers the cephalothorax (1 unit)
o abdomen (7 segments)
• telson
 7th segment
 forms a flat triangular section at the tail of the animal
 powerful abdominal muscles can jerk this tail and propel
the animal rapidly backward
• uropods
 attached to 6th segment
 used for swimming
• swimmeret
 creates water currents and functions in reproduction

Digestive and Excretory Systems

• trap food with chelipeds, tear it with the maxillae and maxillipeds, chew it with the
mandibles
• food passes through esophagus to stomach where chitinous teeth grind it into a fine paste
• paste is mixed with enzymes secreted by digestive gland
• digestive glands absorb the mixture
• undigested particles pass through the intestines and out the anus
 • excretory organs, called green glands, remove wastes from the blood and retain salts
(which are scarce in fresh water)
• live in hypotonic environment  H2O constantly enters by osmosis; H2O eliminated by
green glands  leaves body through a pore at the base of the antennae

Circulatory and Respiratory Systems

• Circulatory
o open circulatory system
o blood flows from a dorsal sinus through small, one-way valves called ostia into
the dorsal heart
o heart pumps blood into 7 large vessels that carry it through the body
o blood leaves the vessels and fills the body cavity where it bathes the organs and
cells
o blood collects in a large, ventral sinus
o other vessels then carry the blood through the gills, where it gives off CO2 (carbon
dioxide) and takes up O2 (oxygen)
o it then returns to the dorsal sinus
• Respiratory
o Gills attached to each walking leg, protected in a chamber under the carapace
o As the crayfish walks water moves across the gills
o As the second maxillae move during feeding, the 2 gill bailers attached to them
“bail” water over the gills

Nervous System
• Brain with a ventral nerve cord that runs from the brain to the tail
• Nerve impulses travel to and from the nerve cord through ganglia
• Nerves connect the brain with sense receptors in the antennules, antennae, and eyes
• Compound eyes
o are set on 2 short, moveable stalks
o each eye has ~2000 light-sensitive lenses
o Detect motion well though they can only form crude images
• Statocysts
o used to sense position; cells that contain particles of CaCO3 (calcium carbonate)
which move when the crustacean’s position changes; this movement is monitored
by the nerves and interpreted by the brain

Reproduction and Development

• usually mate in fall
• male uses 1st and 2nd swimmerets to transfer sperm to the seminal receptacle of the female
• sperm remains there until spring when it fertilizes the egg as the female lays them
• sticky secretion attaches the eggs to the last 3 pairs of the female’s swimmerets
 • eggs hatch after ~6 weeks, having gone through several larval stages
• young look like tiny adults
• they molt repeatedly: average of 7 times during the first year, then twice a year for the
remaining 2 or 3 years of their lives

32.3 Other Arthropods

Subphylum Chelicerata, Class Arachnida

• Include spiders, scorpions, mites, sea spiders, horseshoe crabs
• Most adapted to kill prey with poison glands, stingers, or fangs
• Have body divided into 2:
1. cephalothorax (6 pairs of jointed appendages)
 four pairs of walking legs
 1 pair of chelicerae: fangs
 1 pair pedipalps: aid in chewing (hold food); in some species they’re
specialized for other functions
2. abdomen
• lack antennae
• have 6 pairs of appendages
• first pair of appendages: chelicerae – are modified pincers or fangs

Structure and Function

• Share many characteristics with crustaceans (ex. The nervous, digestive, and circulatory
systems of both groups are structurally similar)
• Respiratory System
o Respire through openings in the cuticle called spiracles
o Air passes through spiracles to the book lungs, the tracheae, or both
o Book lungs
 paired sacs in the abdomen
 pagelike components
 provide a large surface area for the exchange of gases
o Tracheae
 carry air directly to the tissues
• Excretory System
o Main excretory organs: Malpighan tubules
 hollow projections of the digestive tract
 collect bodily fluids
 remove wastes
 carry wastes to the intestine
 o most of the water is reabsorbed and the solid wastes leave the body
o some have coxal glands
 organs that remove wastes and discharge them through an opening at the
base of the leg

Scorpions
• most live in tropical or semitropical areas and are nocturnal; others are in dry temperate
or desert regions; conserve water by excreting concentrated waste
• differ from spiders in 2 ways:
1. have greatly enlarged pedipalps which they hold in a forward position (use
pedipalps to hold food)
2. have a large stinger on the last segment of the abdomen (poison)
• seize their prey with pincerlike pedipalps; fang injects paralyzing venom; chelicerae tear
at prey; then ingested and digested

Spiders
• body very narrow between cephalothorax and abdomen
• feed mainly on insects; some prey on fish, frogs, or birds;
• some chase prey, some catch prey in ‘trapdoors’ in the ground, some snare prey in webs
• some have paralyzing venom
• enzymes are secreted into the prey to digest it
• have 8 simple eyes (with simple lenses) at anterior end of cephalothorax
• spinnerets
o posterior tip of abdomen contains 3 pairs of spinnerets
o each made up of hundreds of microscopic tubes connecting to silk glands
o fluid from silk glands passes through the tubes and hardens into a thread that can
be spun into webs
o silk also used to build nests and cocoons; the young of some species use a long
thread to catch the wind and move to new habitats
o Spider silk is composed of complex protein molecules
• reproduction
o male spider gathers sperm in special sacs in the tips of the pedipalps; places the
sperm in the seminal receptacle of the female
o later female lays eggs which are fertilized by the stored sperm as they pass
through the genital spore
o female then seals eggs in case of silk
o young spiders go through first molt inside the case
 o the female spider will sometimes eat the male after mating
1. Black Widow – has venom; bright red/orange mark on abdomen
2. Brown Recluse – has violin mark on its abdomen

Mites and Ticks

• very small
• unlike other arachnids, have fused cephalothorax and abdomen
• most abundant and most specialized arachnids
• some are pests; others transmit diseases
 Spider Mites damage fruit trees when they suck fluid from the leaves
• Many parasitic ticks pierce their host’s skin to feed on blood; in this process they can
transmit organisms that can cause diseases
 Lyme disease
 Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever
Subphylum Myriapoda (“many feet”)
• OLD NAME: UNIRAMIA
• Terrestrial
• No waxy cuticle; retain moisture through behavioural adaptations, such as living in damp
environments to prevent desiccation

Class Diplopoda – Millipedes (“thousand legs”)

• 2 pairs of legs on each segment except the last 2 (up to 100 segments
• Short antennae
• 2 groups of compound eyes
• Legs strong and well adapted to burrowing through humus and soil
• Short legs; mover slower
• When threatened they roll their body into a coil and may also spray a noxious chemical
that contains cyanide
• In a cross section their bodies are rounded
• Live in soil, logs, under objects
• Many have strong sense of smell but poor vision
• Herbivores adapted for chewing plants and decayed matter in soil

Class Chilopoda – Centipedes (“hundred legs”)

• Body flattened in cross section
• One pair of legs per segment except the first 1 and the last 2
• Legs longer; can move faster
• Many coil up for defence
• May have anywhere from 15 to 175 pairs of legs
• Carnivores: feed on earthworms and on insects (such as cockroaches)
• The first body segment has a pair of clawlike appendages that can inject venom into prey
• Long antennae
• 2 groups of compound eyes
• Eat using mandibles and maxilla