Gordon's Arthropod Page

The Arthropods are the largest and most successful Phylum on this planet

comprising 80% of the animal Kingdom.

An Arthropod is an animal that possesses these characteristics
A) a mouth and anus at opposite ends of a through gut.,
B)a hard jointed exoskeleton,
C) jointed limbs.

The Phylum Arthropoda is divided into 3 Subphyla each of which is in turn divided into various Classes.

For an alternative taxonomy see the cladogram at the

Tree of Life

Phylum Arthropoda
- Subphylum Chelicerata
  Body in two parts, no antennae.
  - Class Merostomata (Horseshoe Crabs)
  - Class Arachnida (Spiders, Mite, Scorpions e.t.c.)
  - Class Pycnogonida (Sea Spiders)
  Subphylum Crustacea
  Body in three parts, thorax in eight segments.
  - Class Cephalocarida (Small primitive shrimps only discovered in 1955)
  - Class Branchiopoda (Small primitive animals with gills on their feet i.e. Daphnia)
  - class Ostracoda (small animals which look like miniature bivalves)
  - Class Mystacocarida (Minute thin shrimp like creatures)
  - Class Copepeda (Important small crustaceans such as Cyclops)
  - Class Branchiura (Small blood sucking ectoparasites)
  - Class Cirripeda (Barnacles)
  - Class Malacostraca (75% of all crustaceans, Crabs, Lobsters, Shrimps and Prawns as well as Woodlice)
  Subphyllum Uniramia
  Body in three parts, thorax in three segments.
  - Class Insecta (Insects)
  - Class Chilopoda (Centipedes)
  - Class Diplopoda (Millipedes)
  - Class Symphyla (Small centipede like creatures which live in leaf litter)
  - Class Pauropoda (Small soft bodied animals of the forest floor)

Bibliography

The Invertebrates, a new synthesis. by Barnes, R.S.K., Calow, P. and Olive, P.J.W. (1988) Blackwell Scientific, London ISBN=0 632 01638 8
The Invertebrata. by Borradaile,L.A., Potts, F.A. and Saunders, J.T. (2nd Ed.) (1956) Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Animal Diversity. by Kershaw, D.R. (1983) Unwin Hyman, London ISBN = 0 04 445177 6

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Phylum Arthropoda

Subphylum Chelicerata

Subphylum Crustacea

Subphyllum Uniramia

Bibliography