Introduction to Phylum Arthropoda: 1.3 Million Species and Counting

He knows a lot about the science stuff, Professor Dave Explains. Phylum Arthropoda gets its name from the ancient Greek arthron, meaning joint, and podos, meaning foot. So, they are the jointed foot animals, and they are the single most diverse animal phylum, containing about 80 to 85% of all described animal species. It is also the

heaviest phylum in terms of total weight. If you were to determine the cumulative weight of every animal phylum and compare them, the arthropods would far outweigh all others. That means in terms of sheer biomass, the weight of the arthropods is greater than the weight of every single animal with a backbone combined, including

every human, cow, elephant, and whale. Arthropods are also perhaps the most numerous animals on Earth. They are found in nearly every niche on the planet and play a vital ecosystem role. Though they are often thought of as pests, like mosquitoes, gnats, and ticks, or objects of phobia, like spiders and centipedes, they are

absolutely essential to human and all vertebrate life. They are carnivores, herbivores, predators, prey, decomposers, pollinators, parasites, and mutualists. Globally, new species are being described almost every day. Some can cause great human suffering by carrying diseases or wiping out crops, and others live on our bodies and pollinate our crops. They can be a major

food source and a rare delicacy. Arthropods are consumed by humans around the world, from crustaceans to scorpions and many others. Since this is the largest animal phylum, we will need quite a few tutorials to cover it. In this first one, we will offer a general introduction to this phylum as a whole. In particular, we will go over general