Arthropod Classification

The Classification of Life:

KINGDOM * PHYLUM * CLASS * ORDER * FAMILY * GENUS * SPECIES

This taxonomic scheme classifies life into groups subordinate to more comprehensive groups.

So What Exactly is an Arthropod Anyway?

Arthropoda is a phylum within the kingdom Animalia. The name Arthropoda comes from Latin and means "jointed legs." Arthropods are invertebrates having paired, jointed appendages and segmented bodies that are covered by an exoskeleton (external skeleton). Arthropods are represented in nearly all habitats on earth. In terms of biodiversity, distribution, and sheer numbers, arthropods are the most successful group of animals ever to live. More than 80% of the earth's animals are arthropods and it is estimated that the arthropod population numbers about 1 billion.

Classes within the Phylum Arthropoda Are:

CLASS ARACHNIA:
Scorpions, spiders, ticks and mites. These animals have a cephalothorax and six pairs of appendages.

CLASS DIPLOPODA:
Millipedes. These animals have two pairs of walking legs per segment, they eat plant matter.

CLASS CHILOPODA:
Centipedes. These animals have one pair of walking legs per segment and are carnivorous.

CLASS INSECTA:
Insects. These animals have three pairs of legs, and three body regions: head, thorax, and abdomen. Class insecta is divided into approximately 26 orders: