The characteristics of arthropods include an exoskeleton, well-developed sense organs, jointed appendages, tagmata body regions, a ventral nervous system and bilateral symmetry. Scientists believe that the ancestors of the arthropods were similar to that of a centipede and over millions of years the various segments fused together and formed new parts.
Exoskeleton
Well-developed sense organs
Jointed appendages
Tagmata body regions
Ventral nervous system
The ventral nervous system is one of the most unique aspects of the arthropod and consists of the major nerve cord moving down the stomach instead of the back like humans or other animals.Bilateral symmetry
The anthropod's exoskeleton is made out of chitin and it sheds throughout the growth process.
These well-developed sense organs allow the arthropod to find its food and to get a sense of its environment. It also has well-developed nerve cords and mesodermal.
The jointed appendages, such as the antennae and the legs, give arthropods a unique look. All of these jointed appendages are connected to a body segment and move together with it.
The tagmata body regions is one of the ways that arthropods are classified because scientists look at the way that the tagmata regions are arranged. There are different arrangements of the body regions, which include the head, the trunk, the abdomen, the thorax and the cephalothorax.
Having bilateral symmetry means that the arthropod mirrors each side of its body and is identical on the right and left sides.
