Arthropods - General àexcellent for protection includes: crabs, crawfish, shrimp, spiders, àalso waterproof à good for life on land scorpions, mites, ticks, millipedes, centipedes, insects (dragonflies, butterflies, ants, wasps, 3. segmented body beetles, etc) allows infinite possibilities for adaptive 1,100,000 known species; modifications at least 2-3 M more species more species in this phylum than in ANY phylum of ANY 4. well developed head (cephalization) kingdom of life with numerous sense organs half of all know species of every kingdom of life includes 2/3rds of all known animals antennae & compound eyes are characteristic sense organs of arthropods more widely distributed over the earth than any other animal phylum brain (ganglia) àlive in virtually every habitat on earth 5. several pairs of jointed feeding appendages common in all terrestrial, freshwater and marine 6. very active and energetic animals habitats Distinctive Characteristics of Arthropods à most active invertebrate group can walk, jump, burrow, fly 1. “jointed legs” some can fly over 30 mph à the only invertebrate with this trait some can run up to 10 mph 2. hard (sclerotized) exoskeleton of chitin completely covers body Animals: Phylum Arthropoda-General; Ziser Lecture Notes, 2012.4 Animals: Arthropods-General Ziser Lecture Notes, 2015.11 2 ___________________________________ food Arthropods are one of the most ancient phyla with pollination many fossils drugs, dyes, silk, honey, wax crop pests à polychaetes (annelids) and arthropods probably arose vectors of disease from a common ancestor over 600 M years ago à one of the few animal phyla that existed before the were the first animals to move onto land Cambrian explosion à Silurian 420 MY ago shortly after the Cambrian explosion arthropods spider-like and centipede-like animals appeared shortly after plants moved onto land quickly became the dominant lifeforms and have dominated the fossil record since (predators; must have been prey around also) one of the oldest animal species on earth (has remained were the 1st animals to fly unchanged) is Triops cancriformis 150 MY before flying reptiles, birds, bats insects à 330 MY; Carboniferous à 180 M yrs à requires no males pterosaurs à 170 MY;late Jurassic birds à 150 MY; (coexisted with pterosaurs many unusual forms now long extinct for ~90 MY) bats à ~40 MY; late Eocene in terms of numbers of individuals: à opened up a whole new set of ecosystems and 200 M individual arthropods for every habitats person on earth before anything else began to compete for the same resources most <6 mm (1/4”) long allowed wide and rapid distribution and dissemination largest: Japanese crab 12’’; largest ever found was 19’ (5.79M), across the globe 40lbs (18kg) smallest: mite <0.1 mm tremendous economic importance to humans Animals: Arthropods-General Ziser Lecture Notes, 2015.11 3 Animals: Arthropods-General Ziser Lecture Notes, 2015.11 4 Arthropod Body Plan Body Wall segmented body body is completely covered with hard exoskeleton also folds into mouth and anus to form lining of foregut and allows infinite possibilities for adaptive hindgut modifications cuticle also lines tracheae lots of fusion of segments into a variety of body main component is chitin (a starch) but much thicker plans: than the thin flexible chitin of previous animal head & trunk phyla such as segmented worms and roundworms cephalothorax & abdomen in some chitin is further hardened with proteins head - thorax - abdomen and calcium deposits (eg. crustacea) paired jointed appendages exoskeleton is secreted by epidermis (hypodermis) arthropods are the only invertebrates with jointed structure: appendages two major layers each further subdivided into appendages are also highly adaptable to suit finer layers almost infinite functions: outer thin epicuticle: hardened (= sclerotized) protein sensoryà antennae, palps with waxy surface for waterproofing feeding à mandibles, chelicerae, etc much thicker, inner procuticle (includes exocuticle and endocuticle): thick outer layer of chitin above a locomotion à walking, climbing, swimming, thinner inner layer that remains thin and flexible flying, walking, swimming, some crustaceans (eg. lobsters & crabs) have a much reproduction thicker and stronger procuticle often impregnated with Calcium salts Animals: Arthropods-General Ziser Lecture Notes, 2015.11 5 Animals: Arthropods-General Ziser Lecture Notes, 2015.11 6 also structures for respiration, swimming & greatly increases its strength mating exoskeleton is often highly colored: camoflage many spines act as tactile organs (touch) recognition warning with the advantages of this exoskeleton it has one major drawback: various microscopic canals run through cuticle and àanimals can’t grow without shedding and open to outside: regrowing a larger exoskeleton pore canals à calcium salts for sclerotization in crustacea Molting wax canals à secrete waxy covering for water proofing dermal gland ducts à unknown function the problem is solved by molting exoskeleton consists of many separate hardened a complex process requiring environmental plates with flexible hinges between factors and the interaction of various hormones à areas where cuticle hasn’t been hardened the exoskeleton also contains various folds includes actual shedding of old cuticle (apodemes), flaps and spines: = ecdysis eg. insects go through a fixed # of molts till muscles are attached to fingerlike inner adulthood, then they don’t molt anymore extensions of skeleton (=apodemes) eg. spiders & some crustaceans molt indefinite # à when muscle pulls it moves part of times throughout their lives eg. lobster closes claws a. molting is usually initiated by environmental cues or a buildup of pressure in the body some parts modified for feeding à causes the release of molting hormone (=ecdysone) Animals: Arthropods-General Ziser Lecture Notes, 2015.11 7 Animals: Arthropods-General Ziser Lecture Notes, 2015.11 8 b. triggers epidermis to secrete enzymes similar to muscle bundles that move our (proteases and chitinases) that digest and bones dissolve the inner layers of old cuticle (procuticle) and it separates from body wall insects have more muscles than most animals including us c. epidermis secretes new procuticle eg. humans have ~700 individual muscles; some insects have 900 or more muscle organs; some caterpillars d. arthropod inflates itself with air or fluid to have 4,000 crack the old skin (at fracture lines) also, layers of muscles surround internal organs e. animal extricates itself from old cuticle as in segmented worms both striated and smooth muscle fibers animal is especially vulnerable at this point Feeding & Digestion eg. soft shell crab must also shed lining of intestine and tracheae at same time virtually every mode of feeding: carnivores, f. animal inflates itself and allows new cuticle to herbivores, omnivores, parasites harden arthropods typically have 4-6 pairs of feeding Movement appendages near their mouth virtually every form of animal movement is found in two main types of feeding appendages: arthropods: chelicerae à pinchers or fangs walking, running, crawling, burrowing, swimming, flying, etc mandibles à jawlike arthropods have a very complex muscular system the jointed plates of the body and legs provide with numerous accessory feeding appendages attachment point for muscles Animals: Arthropods-General Ziser Lecture Notes, 2015.11 9 Animals: Arthropods-General Ziser Lecture Notes, 2015.11 10 well developed, complete, digestive tract: eg. lungs protected internal chamber for air mouth: salivary glands breathing arthropods esophagus: tube that brings food to stomach thin walls of chamber allow exchange of gasses with body fluids stomach: often with specialized areas for grinding and storing and absorbing food eg. book lungs eg. crop, gizzard several hollow internal folds; reverse of book and accessory glands that secrete enzymes and digestive juices lungs intestine: efficient areas for absorption of nutrients able to work in air like book lungs work in water anus: discards unused materials eg. trachea Respiration all terrestrial arthropods use this system for respiration need some kind of respiratory system since waxy cuticle is impermeable to air is a system of branching tubules that delivers oxygen directly to tissues arthropods use a variety of respiratory systems lots of different kinds depending on habitat O2 doesn’t need to travel in blood allows for high metabolism if insects eg. gills in most aquatic species such as crustaeans and aquatic insect larvae and doesn’t limit body size nymphs insect tracheal system was an excellent thin feathery structures or flat sheets of tissue method to get lots of oxygen to muscle tissues eg. book gills in some chelicerates extend from abdomen like pages of a book à preadaptation to flight Animals: Arthropods-General Ziser Lecture Notes, 2015.11 11 Animals: Arthropods-General Ziser Lecture Notes, 2015.11 12 Circulation dorsal brain and double nerve cord with paired arthropods have a simple open circulatory system ganglia in each segment à coelom becomes hemocoel filled with blood still relatively simple, doesn’t do a lot of as in most molluscs processing has dorsal heart and only a few blood vessels eg. cockroach can survive 30-40 days without a head but much better developed sense organs dorsal blood vessel with paired ostia in each segment 1. Eyes blood flows anteriorly in dorsal vessel a. simple eyes = ocelli out into segments and circulates around à can detect only light vs dark organs and back to dorsal vessel b. compound eyes no capillaries with many individual lenses = facets blood of most arthropods contains pigments to carry oxygen: provide a wide field of view and particularly good at detecting movement eg. hemocyanin à bluish pigment with Copper 2. Antennae eg. hemoglobin à red pigment containing Iron tactile & chemical sensations Nervous System 3. Chemoreceptors similar to annelids: Animals: Arthropods-General Ziser Lecture Notes, 2015.11 13 Animals: Arthropods-General Ziser Lecture Notes, 2015.11 14 in addition to being on antennae, can be found on antennal glands excretory organs at the base of almost any body surface antennae in crustaceans used to regulate salt balance eg.