Give a note on general characteristics of phylum Arthropoda.

Phylum Arthropoda:

It is the largest group of animals. In other words, it is the largest phylum in the animal kingdom. The word ‘arthropod’ means ‘jointed legs’ and hence, they have jointed legs.

Characteristics of phylum Arthropoda:

1. The paired jointed appendages bear claws.
2. They may be terrestrial, aquatic, free-living, or parasitic.
3. These animals are triploblastic, bilaterally symmetrical, and segmented.
4. The body is divided into the head, thorax, and abdomen.
5. The body is covered by an exoskeleton made up of cuticles.
6. There is an open circulatory system, and so the blood does not flow in well-defined blood vessels.
7. The body cavity is filled with blood (Haemocoel).
8. The digestive system is complete.
9. Respiration takes place by book lungs, trachea or gills.
10. Sexes are separate.
11. It includes prawns (Palaemon), butterflies, house-flies (Musca), spiders (Aranea), scorpions (Buthus), centipedes (Scolopendra), millipedes, grass hopper, honey bee (Apis), anopheles mosquito, culex mosquito, cockroach (Periplaneta) and crabs (Cancer).