arthropod

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.

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

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arthro·pod adj.

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

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arthropod

Noun

a creature, such as an insect or a spider, which has jointed legs and a hard case on its body [Greek arthron joint + pous foot]

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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.

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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

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

arthropod - 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