Arthropod Exoskeleton & Body Structure — NEET Biology
✅ Asked in NEET 2022This is the largest phylum of Animalia which includes insects. Over two-thirds of all named species on earth are arthropods. They have organ-system level of organisation. They are bilaterally symmetrical, triploblastic, segmented and coelomate animals. The body of arthropods is covered by chitinous exoskeleton. The body consists of head, thorax and abdomen. They have jointed appendages (arthros-joint, poda-appendages). Respiratory organs are gills, book gills, book lungs or tracheal system. Circulatory system is of open type. Sensory organs like antennae, eyes (compound and simple), statocysts or balancing organs are present. Excretion takes place through malpighian tubules. They are mostly dioecious. Fertilisation is usually internal. They are mostly oviparous. Development may be direct or indirect. Examples: Economically important insects – Apis (Honey bee), Bombyx (Silkworm), Laccifer (Lac insect) Vectors – Anopheles, Culex and Aedes (Mosquitoes) Gregarious pest – Locusta (Locust) Living fossil – Limulus (King crab).
NTA focuses on the chitinous exoskeleton as arthropods' defining feature—a rigid outer covering that protects and supports the segmented body. Students often confuse the exoskeleton with an internal skeleton or mistake chitin for other structural proteins. Remember: chitin is a non-living, rigid polysaccharide that arthropods must shed (molt) to grow; it's their distinguishing characteristic compared to other phyla. Since arthropods are the largest animal phylum with diverse examples (insects, crustaceans), understanding their structural organization—particularly the exoskeleton, segmentation, and jointed appendages—is fundamental to animal kingdom classification questions.
Exoskeleton of arthropods is composed of: NEET Year: NEET 2022
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