Arthropods - Phylum Arthropoda

Arthropods (Arthropoda) includes insects, spiders, crustaceans, scorpions, and centipedes. Arthropods are bilaterally symmetrical and have segmented bodies. Their body is covered with an exoskeleton and many arthropods have compound eyes.

Readers Respond: What Arthropod Gives You a Fright?

rthropods are a highly successful group of animals. They evolved more than 500 million years ago and are still going strong. But despite their diversity and unconventional beauty, many arthropods can make us jump and scream. From scorpions to spiders to millipedes, what arthropods are most sure to make you go running for the hills?

 

 

Arthropod Pictures:

Cucumber Green Spider

Photo © Pixelman / Shutterstock.

The cucumber green spider (Araniella cucurbitina) is an orb-web spinning spider native to Europe and parts of Asia.

African Yellow Leg Scorpion

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The African yellow leg scorpion (Opistophthalmus carinatus) is a burrowing scorpion that inhabits southern and eastern Africa. Like all scorpions, it is a predatory arthropod.

Horseshoe Crab

Photo © ShaneKato / iStockphoto.

The horseshoe crab (Limulus polyphemus) is closer kin to spiders, mites and ticks than it is to other arthropods such as crustaceans and insects. Horseshoe crabs live in the Gulf of Mexico and northward along the Atlantic coast of North America.

Jumping Spider

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Jumping spiders (Family Salticidae) are a group of spiders that includes about 5,000 species. Jumping spiders are visual hunters and have acute vision. The are skilled jumpers and secure their silk to the surface before the leap, creating a safety tether.

Lesser Marbled Fritillary

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The lesser marbled fritillary (Brenthis ino) is a small butterfly native to Europe. It belongs to the Family Nymphalidae, a group that includes about 5,000 species.

Ghost Crab

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Ghost crabs (Genus Ocypode) are translucent crabs that live on shores around the world. They have very good eye sight and a wide field of vision. This enables them to spot predators and other threats and scurry out of sight quickly.

Katydid

Photo © Cristi Matei / Shutterstock.

Katydids (Family Tettigoniidae) have long antennae. They are often confused with grasshoppers but grasshoppers have short antennae. In Britain, katydids are called bush crickets.

Millipede

Photo © Jason Poston / Shutterstock.

Millipedes (Class Diplopoda) are long-bodied arthropods that have two pairs of legs for each segment, with the exception of the first few segments behind the head which have no leg pairs or only one leg pair. Millipedes feed on decaying plant matter.

Porcelain Crab

Photo © Dan Lee / Shutterstock.

This porcelain crab (Family Porcellanidae) is not really a crab at all. In fact, it belongs to a group of crustaceans that are more closely related to squat lobsters than to crabs. Porcelain crabs have a flat body and long antennae.

Rosy Lobsterette

Photo © / Wikipedia.

The rosy lobsterette (Nephropsis rosea) is a species of lobster that inhabits the Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico and northward to the waters around Bermuda. It inhabits waters of depths between 1,600 and 2,600 feet.