what is the relation between the exoskeletons of animals and their shapes?
Answers
It might come as a surprise but 98 per cent of the animals on Earth don’t have a backbone, and 95 per cent don’t have any bones at all. So how do all these creatures support and protect themselves? Well, many invertebrates – and all arthropods – have a protective external casing called an exoskeleton. This literally means ‘outside skeleton’ and its role is to cover the animal’s soft tissues and also provide a rigid structure to which the creature’s muscles can attach.
Insect exoskeletons are made of chitin, which is embedded into a kind of tough protein matrix. Chitin is a nitrogen-based biopolymer – similar, at least in function, to keratin, which is the stuff our hair and nails are made of. Arthropods such as crustaceans, meanwhile, have additional calcium carbonate in their exoskeletons for extra armour plating.
As well as supporting and protecting the creature, an exoskeleton also creates a watertight barrier that prevents the animal from drying out. The exterior of an exoskeleton can also contain sensory hairs or bristles, while some animals can secrete various pheromones and chemicals onto the surface of their shell as a means of repelling predators.
Exoskeletons of Animals
Explanation:
- An exoskeleton is a key feature of arthropods, a class of animals that includes insects, and spiders. Grasshoppers, cockroaches, ants, honey bees, cicadas, scorpions, lobsters, shrimp, dark widows, snails and crabs are on the whole instances of creatures with exoskeletons
- Aquatic animals will in general have tubular shaped bodies ( fusiform shape) that decline drag, empowering them to swim at high speeds
- Terrestrial animals have a body shapes that are adjusted to manage gravity
- Exoskeletons are hard defensive covers or shells that likewise give connections to muscles