Avery Friedman, age 14, of Cleveland Ohio for his jugs on:
What is an arthropod?
Arthropod is coined from two words meaning joint and foot. An arthropod is an animal with joints in his feet, his legs and sometimes in his antennae. But these joints are not like those in our bones for an arthropod has no bones. In fact, he has no internal skeleton of any sort. Instead, his soft insides are encased in a crusty or leathery hide,
The tough skin is somewhat like a coat of armor. It is protective, but there must be a way to bend it or the animal would be unable to move around. This is where the joints come into the picture. Various sections of the tough armor are ringed with pliable garters. All these animals belong to the huge phylum called Arthropoda. They include the lobsters, the shrimps and the crabs, the spiders and the vast horde of insects.