The word arthropod comes from the Greek ἄρθρον árthron 'joint', and πούς pous (gen. ποδός podos) 'foot' or 'leg', which together mean "jointed leg", with the word "arthropodes" initially used in anatomical description… See more

Arthropods are invertebrates with segmented bodies and jointed limbs. The exoskeleton or cuticles consists of chitin, a polymer of N-Acetylglucosamine. The cuticle of many crustaceans, beetle mites, the clades Penetini an… See more

A few arthropods, such as barnacles, are hermaphroditic, that is, each can have the organs of both sexes. However, individuals of most species remain of one sex their entire lives. A few species of insects and crustacean… See more

Based on the distribution of shared plesiomorphic features in extant and fossil taxa, the last common ancestor of all arthropods is inferred to have been as a modular organism with each module covered by … See more

Crustaceans such as crabs, lobsters, crayfish, shrimp, and prawns have long been part of human cuisine, and are now raised commercially. Insects and their grubs are at least as nutritious as meat, and are eaten both raw a… See more