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arthropod

   Also found in: Medical, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia, Hutchinson 0.01 sec.
ar·thro·pod  (ärthr-pd)
n.
Any of numerous invertebrate animals of the phylum Arthropoda, including the insects, crustaceans, arachnids, and myriapods, that are characterized by a chitinous exoskeleton and a segmented body to which jointed appendages are articulated in pairs.

[From New Latin Arthropoda, phylum name : arthro- + New Latin -poda, -pod.]

arthro·pod adj.
ar·thropo·dan (är-thrp-dn), ar·thropo·dal (-dl) adj.

arthropod [ˈɑːθrəˌpɒd]
n
(Life Sciences & Allied Applications / Zoology) any invertebrate of the phylum Arthropoda, having jointed limbs, a segmented body, and an exoskeleton made of chitin. The group includes the crustaceans, insects, arachnids, and centipedes
arthropodous  [ɑːˈθrɒpədəs], arthropodal adj

arthropod  (ärthr-pd)
Any of numerous invertebrate animals of the phylum Arthopoda, characterized by an exoskeleton made of chitin and a segmented body with pairs of jointed appendages. Arthropods share many features with annelids and may have evolved from them in the Precambrian Era. Arthropods include the insects, crustaceans, arachnids, myriapods, and extinct trilobites, and are the largest phylum in the animal kingdom.

arthropod
any invertebrate of the phylum that includes insects, arachnids, crustaceans, and myriapods with jointed legs. — arthropod, arthropodal, arthropodan, arthropodous, adj.
See also: Feet and Legs
ThesaurusLegend:  Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Noun1.arthropod - invertebrate having jointed limbs and a segmented body with an exoskeleton made of chitinarthropod - invertebrate having jointed limbs and a segmented body with an exoskeleton made of chitin
Arthropoda, phylum Arthropoda - jointed-foot invertebrates: arachnids; crustaceans; insects; millipedes; centipedes
trilobite - an extinct arthropod that was abundant in Paleozoic times; had an exoskeleton divided into three parts
arachnid, arachnoid - air-breathing arthropods characterized by simple eyes and four pairs of legs
myriapod - general term for any terrestrial arthropod having an elongated body composed of many similar segments: e.g. centipedes and millipedes
garden centipede, garden symphilid, Scutigerella immaculata, symphilid - minute arthropod often infesting the underground parts of truck-garden and greenhouse crops
tardigrade - an arthropod of the division Tardigrada
centipede - chiefly nocturnal predacious arthropod having a flattened body of 15 to 173 segments each with a pair of legs, the foremost pair being modified as prehensors
millepede, milliped, millipede - any of numerous herbivorous nonpoisonous arthropods having a cylindrical body of 20 to 100 or more segments most with two pairs of legs
pycnogonid, sea spider - any of various small spiderlike marine arthropods having small thin bodies and long slender legs
class Merostomata, Merostomata - used in some classifications; includes the orders Xiphosura and Eurypterida
horseshoe crab, Limulus polyphemus, Xiphosurus polyphemus, king crab - large marine arthropod of the Atlantic coast of North America having a domed carapace that is shaped like a horseshoe and a stiff pointed tail; a living fossil related to the wood louse
Asian horseshoe crab - horseshoe crab of the coast of eastern Asia
eurypterid - large extinct scorpion-like arthropod considered related to horseshoe crabs
pentastomid, tongue worm - wormlike arthropod having two pairs of hooks at the sides of the mouth; parasitic in nasal sinuses of mammals
sclerite - hard plate or element of the exoskeleton of some arthropods
carapace, cuticle, shell, shield - hard outer covering or case of certain organisms such as arthropods and turtles
apodeme - ridge-like ingrowth of the exoskeleton of an arthropod that supports internal organs and provides attachment points for muscles
invertebrate - any animal lacking a backbone or notochord; the term is not used as a scientific classification
crustacean - any mainly aquatic arthropod usually having a segmented body and chitinous exoskeleton
onychophoran, peripatus, velvet worm - any of numerous velvety-skinned wormlike carnivorous animals common in tropical forests having characteristics of both arthropods and annelid worms
insect - small air-breathing arthropod
instar - an insect or other arthropod between molts
arthromere - any of the segments in the body of a jointed animal like an arthropod
thorax - the middle region of the body of an arthropod between the head and the abdomen
Translations
arthropod [ˈɑːθrəpɒd] Nartrópodo m
arthropod
nGliederfüßer m; the arthropodsdie Arthropoden pl
arthropod [ˈɑːθrəˌpɒd] nartropode m


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I don't know which dictionary Mr Fletcher uses, but in my dictionary an insect is defined as "any of a class of small air-breathing arthropod with a body divided into head, thorax and abdomen, three pairs of legs and (in most cases) two pairs of wings".
Hurdia, an early offshoot of the lineage that led to modern arthropods--the large group that contains insects, crustaceans, spiders, millipedes, and centipedes--had defining arthropod features such as compound eyes and limbs, revealing that the origins of these features go far back in time.
Hagadorn and Adolf Seilacher of Yale University studied arthropod trackways found in 500-million-year-old sandstone in central Wisconsin.
 
 
 
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