Question

What are the reasons that you can think of for the arthropods to constitute the largest group of the animal kingdom?​

Answer 1

Arthropods are most successful animals and constitute the largest group of the animal kingdom. They have conquered land, sea and air and make up over three fourth of currently known living and fossil organisms. They range in distribution from deep sea to mountain peaks. Thick, tough, non-living chitinous cuticle forms the exoskeleton which protects the organism from predators, help to withstand temperature upto 100°C or more and prevents water loss. They have ability to reproduce very fast and less time is needed for young ones to hatch from their eggs. Due to metamorphosis, there is less competition among larval and adult forms for food. Cockroaches can even survive nuclear radiations and poisoned earth. All these factors made arthropods the largest phylum among animals.

Answer 2

Answer:

The phylum, Arthropoda, consists of more than two-thirds of the animal species on earth.

The reasons for the success of arthropods are:-

• Jointed legs that allow more mobility on land
• Hard exoskeleton made of chitin that protects the body
• The hard exoskeleton also reduces water loss from the body of arthropods making them more adapted to terrestrial conditions.