The term ‘Arthropoda’ is derived from Greek words arthros that means jointed and podos that means leg.
These animals have jointed appendages.
It is the largest phylum of the Kingdom Animalia with a documentation of 85% species.
They have a segmented body.
The segments consist of specialised body organs. Such segments are called tagmata (sing. tagma).
They are triploblastic and haemocoelomic.
They occupy terrestrial, aquatic and aerial habitats.
Body Plan of Arthropoda:
They possess a tough chitinous exoskeleton. These are the first animals to develop voluntary muscles. The degree of segmentation in animals varies.Arthropods possess a tough chitinous exoskeleton.