arthropod: Quick Facts

Written and fact-checked by

The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Facts

Also Known As	Arthropoda

Photos and Videos

A spiny lobster (Palinurus elephas) with long, striped antennae and spiny body stands on sandy ground near a rocky crevice underwater.

A large Scolopendra centipede with a dark segmented body and yellow legs crawls across rough brown wood.

Horseshoe crab (Limulus polyphemus) with a hard, rounded shell and long pointed tail lying on sandy ground.

Illustration showing a variety of adult insects, each labeled with its common name and order, including walkingstick, earwig, stonefly, tree cricket, dragonfly, female scale, cat flea, thrips, sucking louse, thysanuran, ant, scarab beetle, stinkbug, mosquito, and cabbage butterfly, highlighting their diverse shapes and sizes.

Close-up of a copepod, a small translucent zooplankton with segmented body and antennae, against a textured gray background.

Behold the multitude of Amazonian arthropods including spiders, scorpions, beetles, and mantids

See All Videos, Images and Interactives →

Topics

crustacean Mandibulata Chelicerata trilobite myriapod pentastomid insect Merostomata arachnid sea spider annelid echinoderm flatworm cnidarian mollusk moss animal lamp shells Chordate arrowworm ctenophore

Dig Deeper: More Articles That Discuss This Topic

Sea otter (Enhydra lutris), also called great sea otter, rare, completely marine otter of the northern Pacific, usually found in kelp beds. Floats on back. Looks like sea otter laughing. saltwater otters

Animal Group Names

Mute swan with cygnet. (birds)

Match the Baby Animal to Its Mama Quiz

Lion (panthera leo)

Deadliest Animals Quiz

The bearded vulture (Gypaetus barbatus) is seen in Switzerland on December 2024

Animal Factoids

Green tree python snake (Chondropython viridis) in a rainforest.

Creepy Crawlers Quiz