Define General Characters and Classification of Arthropoda?

These are metamerically segmented animals with an exoskeleton of cuticle. Scliizocoelic coelom is much reduced and is replaced by perivisceral haemocoel, which is filled with blood. Circulatory system is of open type. True nephridia are absent, but coelomoducts act as gonoducts and often as excretory organs. Body of the animal is bilaterally symmetrical.

They also bear paired appendages. The phylum Arthropoda is divisible into Chelicerate and Crustacea. In this exercise you will only examine and identify the Arachnida, Crustacea and in the next exercise we will deal with uniramia and onychophora. You will examine, identify and draw labelled line diagrams of the preserved specimens/ permanent slides of the whole mounts of the animals. You are supposed to write the comments on the observations you have made.