Phylum
Arthropoda
I
Introduction;
Subphylum Chelicerata; Subphylum
Myriapoda
The following questions will
help you to review the material from the lecture, the laboratory, as
well as the text.
- Describe the
diversity of the phylum Arthropoda.
- What do these animals all
have in common (what are their shared characteristics)?
- How many arthropods have
been described at the current time? How many are thought to exist on
our planet?
- What is metamerism? How
has the process of tagmosis and metamerism favored the success of
the phylum Arthropoda?
- Describe the specific
structure of the exoskeleton.
Name the different layers of the insect integument.
- How is the exoskeleton
produced? What is it made of?
- What is the function of
the exoskeleton. Give four examples.
- Discuss the disadvantages
with an exoskeleton.
- Describe the process of
ecdysis in an arthropod. How does a newly molted arthropod differ
from one that molted a couple of weeks earlier?
- What is metamorphosis?
Briefly describe the process and give examples of arthropods in
which the process is found.
- What is the ecological
advantage of having metamorphosis as a part of the life cycle of the
organism?
- What are the names of the
five different subphyla traditionally found within the phylum
Arthropoda?
- Briefly
describe a trilobite. When did these animals dominate the
oceans of our planet? What happened to this diverse group of
animals?
- Characterize the
subphylum Chelicerata. Give examples of animals found within this
taxon.
- What are the names of the
two tagmata that make up the body of these animals? What kind of
physiological functions are found in each of the two tagmata?
- Describe the chelicerae
of these animals. What is their function?
- Name the three classes of
the subphylum Chelicerata. How do they differ from each other?
- What are horseshoe
crabs?
- What kind of animals are
found in the class Arachnida? What are the names of the orders in
this class?
- Describe the
anatomy
of a spider.
- How do spiders feed?
Describe the physiology
of
feeding in these animals. How do they kill the animal? How do
they gain access to nutrients? How do they digest the food after
taking it in? Where is the food absorbed?
- How do spiders remove
waste products from their bodies (excretion)?
- Describe the process of
gas exchange in spiders as it occurs in book
lungs as well as in the tracheal system. What are the main
differences between the process in these two types of respiratory
systems?
- What kind of circulatory
system is found in these animals? How does it work? How are blood
gases transported?
- How do spiders reproduce?
Describe the encounter between a male and female spider and how the
male transfers sperms cells to the female.
- What are pedipalps?
Spermatophores?
- Briefly describe the
reproductive behavior of tarantulas as explored in the film seen in
lab.
- Female spiders often
produce an egg sac that they then guard. Briefly describe the life
of very young spiders. What do they feed on? How do they get around?
- Describe the life cycle
of a spider.
- Describe the diversity of
spiders.
- Briefly describe the body
of a scorpion.
How do they capture prey? What kind of senses do they use to detect
their prey?
- Which two spiders should
one watch out for in the state of California? Why?
- Describe at least five
different hunting techniques used by spiders.
- How do spiders produce webs?
What are the webs used for? Briefly describe some characteristics of
the silk that makes it such a fantastic building material.
- Do all spiders produce
webs? Why or why not?
- Do spiders learn how to
build a web or is this skill genetically determined? Explain!
- Briefly describe the
evolution of the different types of spider webs. Why did these
different web designs evolve?
- What are harvestmen? How
do they differ from spiders?
- Briefly discuss the
natural history of mites. What do they look like? Are there any
mites of importance to humans?
- Describe the body
structure of a tick?
What do these animals feed on? Describe the
life
cycle of ticks.
- What kind of diseases can
be transferred by a tick?
- What are sea
spiders? Where can you find them? What do they look like? What
do they feed on?
- Characterize the subphylum
Myriapoda. Give examples of animals found within this taxon.
- Characterize
the
class Diplopoda.
- Briefly
describe
the natural history of millipedes. What do they feed on? Where can you
expect to find them (and why)?
- How
do
these animals defend themselves against predators?
- Characterize
the
class Chilopoda.
- How
do
centipedes differ from millipedes? In terms of external anatomy? In
terms of behavior?
-
What
do
centipedes feed on? What parts of their anatomy indicates such a diet?
- What
do
you know about the natural history of centipedes?
- Summarize: What
are the characteristics of the phylum Arthropoda?
- Summarize: What
are the characteristics of the subphylum Chelicerata?
- Summarize: What are
the characteristics of the subphylum Myriapoda?
- Summarize: What
are the names of the different taxa that you encountered in this
section? Make a table. Memorize the taxa.
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