MARINE INVERTEBRATES

10 Crustaceans
When you have finished this chapter, you should be able to:

LIST the basic characteristics of the crustaceans.

DESCRIBE the structures and functions of lobsters and crabs.

IDENTIFY important features of the smaller crustaceans and other

marine arthropods.

10.1 Hiding in the recesses of a rocky shoreline is a northern lobster, ready

Introduction to to grab its next meal with its strong claws. The lobster’s claws, and
Crustaceans: the rest of its body covering, are composed of a tough fibrous mater-
The Lobster ial. This outer skeleton is like a suit of armor that protects the lobster.
Other animals with tough outer skeletons include such diverse
10.2 forms as crabs, shrimps, barnacles, spiders, and insects. These animals
Another Important also have numerous segmented legs, or appendages, which they use
Crustacean: for locomotion and food-getting. Numbering more than a million
The Crab species, and found both on land and in water, this largest group of
animals is classified as the phylum Arthropoda.
10.3 With their tough body covering and movable appendages, lob-
Diversity Among sters and other members of this phylum can move about with some
Crustaceans: degree of security. In this chapter, you will learn how the marine
The Shrimp and arthropods have successfully adapted to life in the sea.
Others
10.4
Diversity Among the
Arthropods

236
 10.1 INTRODUCTION TO CRUSTACEANS:
THE LOBSTER

Members of phylum Arthropoda are commonly called the arthro-

pods (meaning “jointed feet”). The characteristic movable limbs,
which give the phylum its name, are referred to as jointed
appendages. The tough body covering, or outer skeleton, is the ani-
mal’s exoskeleton. It is made of chitin, a type of carbohydrate.
Chitin varies from flexible to hard in different arthropod species.
The exoskeleton functions not only as a protective cover for arthro-
pods but also as a place of attachment for their muscles. The arthro-
pods are so diverse in appearance that scientists differ on whether to
divide the group into several classes, subphyla, or completely sepa-
rate phyla. For our purposes, we refer to the major subdivisions as
classes, the most important in marine habitats being the class Crus-
tacea (meaning they have a “crust” or “shell”).

Crustacean Features
Look at the lobster and crab illustrated in Figure 10-1. What do the
two animals have in common? These sea creatures are crustaceans,
animals that have a hard outer covering. The bodies of these crus-
taceans have bilateral symmetry and are divided into two main seg-
ments—the cephalothorax (which comprises the head and chest
regions) and the abdomen (including a tail, if present). The part of
the exoskeleton that covers the head and chest regions is called the
carapace. Crustaceans such as lobsters, crabs, and shrimps have five
Northern lobster
pairs of legs located under their carapace. Therefore, they are
referred to as the decapods (meaning “ten legs”). The claws, which
are used in food-getting, are the first pair of legs; the four other pairs
are the walking legs. The head contains two eyes, two pairs of anten-
nae, and special mouthparts used for feeding. The thorax contains
the food-getting appendages and the walking legs. Some crus-
taceans, such as the lobster, can glide along the sea bottom by using
their small paddlelike appendages, called swimmerets, which are Fiddler crab
located under the abdomen.
Figure 10-1 Typical crus-
How does a crustacean grow, if it is encased in a rigid exoskeleton? taceans—a lobster and a
Crabs, lobsters, and shrimps shed their outer covering once or more crab.

Crustaceans 237
 each year in a process called molting. To molt, the crustacean secretes
a new exoskeleton inside the old one, which it splits. The animal then
pushes its body out through a gap between the thorax and the
abdomen. After molting, the crustacean has a soft new exoskeleton
that gradually hardens; but until that time, it is vulnerable to preda-
tors. While they are still soft, crabs such as the blue claw crab (Cal-
linectes sapidus) are harvested and sold commercially as soft-shell crabs.

The Lobster
Two common lobster species are the northern lobster (Homarus
americanus) and the spiny lobster (Panulirus argus). The northern
lobster, also called the Maine lobster, has two large claws, which are
absent in the spiny lobster. The northern lobster lives in the rocky
subtidal zone, from Labrador to Virginia. The spiny, or rock, lobster
is found in the waters of Florida, the Gulf of Mexico, and California.
(There is also a European species of spiny lobster.)
Lobsters are aggressive and often fight amongst themselves. If
one lobster grabs the claw of another lobster, the latter can escape
by releasing its arm from its socket. Lobster trappers can also be left
holding just a lobster arm if they make the mistake of grabbing a
lobster by its claws. The ability of a lobster to sacrifice a body part to
escape from its enemy is an adaptation for survival. The arm grows
back, because arthropods can regenerate appendages. This ability is
of interest to medical scientists, who are investigating the possibility
of limb regeneration in humans.

Structures and Life Activities of Lobsters

Lobsters are predators, able to feed on other invertebrates such as
mussels and sea urchins, which they grab with their claws. They also
scavenge on the remains of dead animals. Food is digested in a one-
way digestive tract consisting of a mouth, esophagus, stomach, and
intestines. Wastes are eliminated through the anus. (See Figure 10-2,
which shows the internal and external anatomy of a typical north-
ern lobster.)
How does a lobster breathe? Like the mollusks, lobsters use gills
for breathing. The gills are featherlike structures located in a water-

238 Marine Invertebrates

 Figure 10-2 External and
internal anatomy of a
Second Eyes
Cephalothorax Abdomen lobster.
antennae

Cheliped
(claw)
Maxillipeds
First
antennae
Swimmerets

Tail (telson)
Walking legs

Stomach Digestive Heart Testis Intestine

gland

Brain

Maxillipeds Mouth Nerve cord Anus

filled chamber under the carapace. Each gill is attached to the upper
end of a walking leg. The rapid beating of the mouthparts sends cur-
rents of water over the gills. Oxygen in the water diffuses into the
gills, and carbon dioxide passes from the gills out to the water.
Oxygen and nutrients are transported around the lobster’s body
in its blood. The blood is blue in color due to the presence of a pig-
ment called hemocyanin. Hemocyanin contains copper, which
binds oxygen in much the same way that the iron in our hemoglo-
bin binds oxygen (and imparts a red color to our blood).
Blood is pumped through the body by a one-chambered heart.
Veins and arteries carry blood to and from the heart, aided by the
body’s muscular contractions. However, there are no capillaries con-
necting the arteries and veins, so the blood just passes through the
tissue spaces. Thus, lobsters (and all other arthropods) have an open
circulatory system.
The lobster’s nervous system enables it to carry out a variety of
responses. Its eyes are mounted on movable stalks. Two pairs of
antennae actively feel out the environment. The impulses from
these receptors are carried by sensory nerves to the brain, or cere-
bral ganglia. Responses are carried out when the brain sends
impulses back via the ventral nerve cord to muscles in the legs and
in the abdomen.

Crustaceans 239
 Lobsters reproduce sexually. Fertilization is internal, and devel-
opment is external. The male deposits sperm cells into the female’s
abdomen, where they are stored in a chamber called the seminal
receptacle. As the eggs are released, they are fertilized by the sperm.
The female carries the large mass of fertilized eggs on its abdomen,
attached to its swimmerets, for nearly a year before they hatch. The
embryos go through a larval phase typical of most other crus-
taceans, floating as part of the plankton population, and molting as
they grow and develop into the adult form.

10.1 SECTION REVIEW

1. How can an arthropod grow if it is enclosed in an exoskeleton?
2. How does a lobster carry out the life activity of breathing?
3. Explain why some lobsters may have one claw that is larger
than the other claw.

10.2 ANOTHER IMPORTANT

CRUSTACEAN: THE CRAB

There are many species of crabs alive in the world today. Look at
the three crabs shown in Figure 10-3. They look very different from
one another. What do you think is the reason for this? Crabs live
everywhere—on land and in the sea, and from surface waters down
to the great ocean depths. The great diversity that exists among
them is due to the fact that crabs have successfully adapted to these
many different habitats. In this section, you will learn about several
of these crab species and their unique adaptations.

The Crab
The fiddler crab (Uca) digs tunnels in the sand along the shores of
bays and inlets. When the tide comes in, fiddler crabs retreat to the
tunnels and plug up the entrances with sand. At low tide, the fid-
dlers leave their tunnels to search for food. If you approach them,
they will scurry back into the nearest hole. The fiddler crab is named

240 Marine Invertebrates

 Mole crab Spider crab Hermit crab

Figure 10-3 Three repre-

sentative crabs.
for its large claw, which resembles the arm position of a person play-
ing the fiddle. (Refer to Figure 10-1.) The males have the one large
claw plus a smaller one, and the females have two small claws. The
male uses the large claw to threaten or fight with other males over
territory. If a male loses his large claw in a fight, it regenerates a new
small claw, while the other claw then grows into a large claw.
The mole crab (Emertia) lives in the turbulent surf zone along
sandy beaches. How is this animal adapted to live in such an unsta-
ble environment? The mole crab has a smooth, streamlined body,
which diminishes the impact of waves and lets it burrow and move
(by use of its swimmerets) efficiently through swirling mixtures of
sand and water. Mole crabs also have featherlike antennae, which
they use to capture the microscopic organisms that live between
sand grains and in the surf.
The hermit crab (Pagurus longicarpus) is born with a soft
abdomen that lacks an exoskeleton, making it vulnerable to attack.
For protection, the hermit crab finds an empty snail shell to live in.
Hermit crabs inhabit shallow coastal waters where they scavenge on
particles of food. As the hermit crab increases in size, it outgrows its
old snail shell and has to find a larger one. So hermit crabs are
always trying on a new shell for a better fit.
Not all crabs are active and aggressive. The spider crab (Libinia
emarginata) is slow in its movements. Notice that it has no paddle-
like appendages for quick swimming or digging in the sand. The
pointed legs are used for crawling very slowly along the ocean bot-
tom. As a consequence, organisms such as algae and barnacles have
time to attach and grow on the back of the spider crab. The spider
crab inhabits Atlantic and Pacific waters, where it scavenges on food

Crustaceans 241
 particles. The biggest crab in the ocean is the giant spider crab
(Macrocheira kaempferi), found in deep waters off the coast of Japan.
Some specimens have measured, leg tip to leg tip, up to 4 meters in
width.

Structures and Life Activities of Crabs

What structures does the crab possess that enable it to carry out its
life functions? As mentioned above, the crab’s body is divided into
segments (the cephalothorax and the abdomen), which are covered
by the carapace. (There is no tail.) The abdomen in the crab is small
and flat and is folded between the crab’s walking legs on its ventral
side. You can tell the sex of a crab by the shape of its abdomen; the
female has a U-shaped abdomen, and the male has a V-shaped
abdomen. (See Figure 10-4.) When you do the lab investigation at
the end of this chapter, you will observe the structures of the crab
more closely.
Crabs eat mainly dead plant and animal matter, although some
graze on algae and others are predatory. They use their two sharp
claws to tear and shred food. The food is passed to the mouth,
where it is cut into even smaller pieces by the mouthparts. As in the
lobster, food is digested in a one-way digestive tract, consisting of
Figure 10-4 A male and the mouth, esophagus, stomach, and intestines. Digestive wastes are
a female crab (ventral eliminated through the anus.
view)—they can be distin-
Like the lobster, crabs breathe by means of their gills and they
guished by the shape of
the abdomen.
Male Female

Claw Cephalothorax Claw

Mouth Mouth
parts parts
Walking
legs

Swimming
legs
Abdomen Abdomen
(narrow) (wide)

242 Marine Invertebrates

transport nutrients and oxygen through an open circulatory sys-
tem. Their head region has two eyes (on stalks) and antennae for
perceiving touch and temperature stimuli. Their well-developed
nervous system enables them to respond to stimuli and control
muscular activities, such as locomotion, via the ventral nerve
cord.
Crabs produce large numbers of offspring. The female carries a
mass of eggs between her abdomen and thorax. Sperm from the
male fertilizes the eggs internally. The embryos develop externally,
passing through the larval phase that is typical of decapod crus-
taceans. It is most adaptive for the crab to produce an abundance of
fertilized eggs, since so many are eaten during their larval phase in
the plankton population.

10.2 SECTION REVIEW

1. How is the mole crab adapted to live in the turbulent surf
zone?
2. Why does the hermit crab live inside an empty snail shell?
3. Why might it be particularly beneficial for the giant spider crab
to be so large?

10.3 DIVERSITY AMONG CRUSTACEANS:

THE SHRIMP AND OTHERS

Crustaceans range in size from nearly microscopic to absolutely

huge. You are more aware of the larger ones, such as the lobster and
crab, because they are popular seafood items. In this section, you
will learn about the shrimp and some of the smaller crustaceans that
may be less familiar to you.

The Shrimp
The shrimp looks somewhat like a small version of the lobster. The
pink Gulf shrimp (Penaeus duorarum), which grows up to 17 cm
long, is caught for the seafood industry by fishing trawlers off the

Crustaceans 243
Figure 10-5 Two species
of shrimps.

Gulf shrimp Mantis shrimp

coast from the Carolinas to the Gulf of Mexico. The smaller com-
mon shore shrimp (Palaemonetes vulgaris) lives among the grasses
and seaweeds in salt marshes, where it scavenges on dead plant mat-
ter and other organic debris. One of the smallest shrimps is the
cleaning shrimp (Periclimenes), several species of which inhabit coral
reefs. The cleaning shrimp, which looks like a tiny, colorful version
of the shore shrimp, survives by eating parasites that are found on
the skin of reef fish—a symbiotic relationship that benefits both fish
and shrimp. The mantis shrimp (Squilla empusa) is the largest of all
shrimp, growing up to 25 cm in length. From its burrow in the sand
or mud, the mantis shrimp spears such prey as worms and small fish
with its spiny front appendages, which unfold like a jackknife. It is
found from Cape Cod down to Brazil. (See Figure 10-5.)

Copepods and Krill

Do you recognize either of the crustaceans in Figure 10-6? The most
abundant crustacean in the ocean is actually the tiny copepod
(Calanus)—there are more than 1000 species of copepods in the sea.
The copepod, which is less than half a centimeter long, eats mainly
diatoms. You may recall from an earlier chapter that the copepod is
a very important part of the zooplankton community, because it
forms the vast bulk of the base of the oceanic food chain for so
many other species. Copepods reproduce sexually; the developing
larvae undergo numerous molts before reaching maturity. During
the spring and summer, when copepods are abundant, you can
catch many of them in a plankton net. For a closer look, you can
observe them under a dissecting microscope.

244 Marine Invertebrates

 Second antenna Figure 10-6 Copepods
and krill are important
Eye
First antenna members of the zooplank-
ton community.
Cephalothorax
Maxilliped
Antennae Abdomen

Legs

Eye
Legs
Eggs

Copepod Krill

A cold-water relative of the copepod is a shrimplike animal

called krill (Euphausia). (Although it resembles a shrimp, the krill
has more than 10 legs, so it is not classified with the decapods.) Krill
grow to about 5 cm in length. Most krill live in Antarctic waters,
although some are found in other oceans. Like the copepod, the
krill is a planktonic animal that eats diatoms and floats in large
masses near the ocean’s surface. Krill are the principal food source
for the filter-feeding (baleen) whales and, along with the copepod,
provide food for countless fish, birds, and seals.

Amphipods and Isopods

Whereas copepods and krill float in the open ocean, other shrimp-
like crustaceans are found near the edge of the sea, living in or on a
substrate. (See Figure 10-7.) If you turn over a rock or some debris in
the intertidal zone, anywhere from the Arctic to the Chesapeake
Bay, you are likely to find a bottom-dwelling crustacean called the

Figure 10-7 Amphipods

and isopods live in the
intertidal and subtidal
zones, respectively.

Beach flea Sea roach

Crustaceans 245
 scud (Gammarus). This little crustacean feeds on small invertebrates
that live in the wet sand. And on sandy beaches along the East and
West coasts, under the moist seaweeds along the strandline, a tiny
crustacean called the beach flea (Talorchestia) can be found. If you
turned over the seaweed, you would see hundreds of these creatures
hopping and darting about. The beach fleas use the seaweed both
for cover and for food. Crustaceans such as the scud and the beach
flea, which look like tiny shrimps that have flattened sides, are
called amphipods.
Some crustaceans, such as the sea roach (Ligia), resemble species
of arthropods that live on land. (The pill bug, often found under
rotting logs, is related to these crustaceans. Over time, land animals
may evolve from sea animals—and vice versa—by first adapting to
intertidal conditions.) Sea roaches swim and crawl in coastal waters
among the seaweeds; they feed on algae. Like the cockroach, the sea
roach is active at night and hides during the day. The sea roach
inhabits the shallow coastal waters from California to Central Amer-
ica and from Cape Cod to Canada. Notice that compared with the
beach flea, the sea roach’s body is flattened from top to bottom
(rather than from side to side). These tiny crustaceans, with flat-
tened bodies and seven pairs of legs, are called isopods. Other
species of isopods are parasitic; they live by attaching to the gills
and skin of fish such as cod and halibut.

The Barnacle
An unusual crustacean that is often mistaken for a mollusk is the
barnacle. The acorn, or rock, barnacle (Balanus) lives in the upper
intertidal zone, attached to rocks and other hard surfaces. Its over-
lapping, sharp calcium carbonate plates, which resemble a mollusk’s
shell, protect the animal inside.
Barnacles attach to almost any substrate, from a ship’s hull to a
whale’s skin. Like the yellow boring sponge described in Chapter 6,
the barnacle is a type of encrusting organism. (See Figure 10-8.)
Figure 10-8 Barnacles are Ships must be dry-docked periodically to be scraped clean of barna-
sessile, encrusting organ-
cles, because they add weight, increase friction, and thus hinder a
isms; here they have used
an empty glass bottle as ship’s ability to move smoothly and quickly. In effect, a barnacle-
their substrate. encrusted ship uses more fuel to move through the water.

246 Marine Invertebrates

Structures and Life Activities of Barnacles
How does the barnacle feed? The barnacle’s body is actually folded
up within its shell, so that its appendages (legs) can protrude from
the opening. When the tide comes in and covers it, the barnacle
opens its shell plates and extends its six pairs of feathery
appendages, called cirri. The cirri whip about in rhythmic fashion
to catch phytoplankton and other food particles, which are then
brought into the mouth. Barnacles are filter feeders because they
filter plankton and organic debris from the water. Food is digested
in a one-way digestive tract, consisting of the mouth, stomach, and
intestine. Wastes are eliminated through the anus. (See Figure
10-9.)
Water that contains dissolved oxygen is swept into a barnacle’s
shell by the movement of its cirri. The oxygen and carbon dioxide
gases are exchanged across the barnacle’s skin membrane. At low
tide, when the barnacle is exposed to air, its overlapping plates shut
tight, thus retaining moisture to keep the animal from drying out.
Notice that the barnacle contains both ovaries and testes; thus it
is a hermaphrodite. Although each animal contains both sets of
reproductive organs, self-fertilization does not occur. Mating occurs
when a penis that is carrying sperm from one barnacle is inserted
into a neighboring barnacle. Fertilization occurs inside the barna-
cle, and the fertilized eggs develop into swimming larvae, which are
shed into the water. The barnacle larvae, like those of other crus-
taceans, are part of the plankton population. When the larvae come

Plates Figure 10-9 The barnacle keeps

its body folded up within its shell
Anus of overlapping plates; only its
Mouth
cirri extend out of the shell for
filter feeding.

Cirri Stomach

Intestine
Penis
Oviduct

Testis Ovary
Acorn barnacle

Crustaceans 247
 RESEARCH
Sticking with the Barnacle

barnacle is still in its larval stage,

does not dissolve in strong acids,
alkaline substances, or organic
solvents.
How does this strong attach-
ment develop? Once the barnacle
larva settles down on a suitable
substrate, it secretes a clear liquid
adhesive from glands in its body.
As the barnacle grows, the glands
enlarge to produce more cement,
which hardens into an opaque,
rubbery solid. Biochemists have
determined that the cement is
The barnacle is a source of fascination for composed of protein molecules that provide a
marine biologists. It can be found attached to a strong framework to anchor the barnacle.
variety of substrates, such as rocks, wood pil- Scientists are conducting further research to
ings, ships’ hulls, and even the bodies of live try and unravel various mysteries of the barna-
turtles and whales. Storms and powerful waves cle. Some biologists are focusing on its larval
cannot dislodge the barnacle from its attach- stage in order to understand how it selects a
ment to these surfaces. How can this tiny suitable location on which to settle. Medical
arthropod stick so firmly to a substrate? researchers are interested in the barnacle’s
Researchers have found that the barnacle pro- adhesive—if scientists can figure out how to
duces natural cement that is more than twice as manufacture this powerful substance, they
strong as any factory-made adhesive. This sticky might be able to use it to mend broken bones
glue, which is produced underwater when the and fill teeth.

QUESTIONS
1. How does a barnacle attach to the shell of a sea turtle?
2. Why are scientists fascinated with the barnacle?
3. Describe two areas of further research on the barnacle.

248 Marine Invertebrates

into contact with a suitable substrate—preferably near other barna-
cles—they attach to it by secreting glue from special glands, and Plate Cirri
then develop into adult barnacles. (shell)
Barnacles also live in clusters among the mussel beds in the
lower intertidal zone along the West Coast. Called gooseneck, or
goose, barnacles (Pollicipes) for the long stalks by which they are
attached to the substrate, they are able to bend with the currents to
Stalk
capture large plankton that drift by. Their six pairs of cirri extend
from the shell at the top of the stalk, enabling them to compete
with the mussels for living space and food. (See Figure 10-10.)

10.3 SECTION REVIEW Gooseneck barnacle

1. Describe three methods of food-getting in shrimps. Figure 10-10 The goose-

neck barnacle can bend
2. Why are krill and copepods important members of the plank- with the ocean currents,
ton population? extending its cirri to cap-
ture drifting plankton.
3. How do barnacles become encrusted on substrates, such as the
hull of a ship?

10.4 DIVERSITY AMONG THE

ARTHROPODS

As you have learned, the most important arthropods in the ocean

are the crustaceans. However, the arthropods are a very diverse
group. In addition to crustaceans, there are other types of arthro-
pods that are adapted to the marine environment. Two unusual
groups of arthropods found in or near the sea are the horseshoe crab
and the marine insects. In this section, you will learn how these
arthropods are uniquely adapted to their marine habitats.

The Horseshoe Crab

An arthropod that is often mistaken for a crab is the horseshoe crab
(Limulus polyphemus). The horseshoe crab is not a true crab; it lacks
antennae and mouthparts, and it has six pairs of legs, or
appendages. (A true crab has five pairs of legs.) The horseshoe crab is

Crustaceans 249
 actually more closely related to spiders and scorpions than to crus-
taceans. As such, it is placed in it own class, Merostomata.
The horseshoe crab inhabits the waters along America’s Atlantic
and Gulf coasts and along the Asian Pacific coast, where it searches
for food in the mud, preying on small mollusks and crustaceans,
and scavenging on dead matter. The horseshoe crab has four eyes—
two simple eyes and two compound eyes—located on the top of its
carapace. The compound eyes contain many visual units, which are
grouped together for better vision.

Structures and Life Activities of Horseshoe Crabs

On the underside of the horseshoe crab are its legs. The first pair of
appendages is a set of pinching claws (the cheliceras); the five other
pairs are the walking legs. In males, the first claw is shaped like a
boxing glove. The body and legs are covered by a domed carapace,
which is followed by a long spiked tail. (See Figure 10-11.)
Behind the legs are numerous overlapping membranes that
Figure 10-11 External
and internal anatomy of
the horseshoe crab. Dorsal view Ventral view

Chelicera
Simple eye
(claw)

Compound eye

Walking
Carapace
legs

Book gills

Telson

250 Marine Invertebrates

resemble pages in a book. These are the book gills, which are used
for breathing and locomotion. The movement of the book gills
enables larval horseshoe crabs to swim upside down, so that they
can feed more easily on suspended food particles and plankton. Like
crustaceans, the horseshoe crab has copper-based hemocyanin in its
blood for transporting oxygen through its body.
Contrary to what most people think, the horseshoe crab’s spiked
tail, or telson, is not used as a weapon. It is used in locomotion.
Also, when tossed on its back by a wave, the horseshoe crab sticks
its telson in the sand to use as a lever to flip itself over.

Life Cycle of the Horseshoe Crab

In late spring, when the tide is high, thousands of horseshoe crabs
invade the sandy beaches and marshes. The females, carrying the
smaller males clutched to their backs, congregate at the high-tide
mark where they dig holes in the sand and lay hundreds of tiny pale
green eggs. The males, still attached to the females, externally fer-
tilize the eggs, which are then covered with sand. (This abundance
of horseshoe crab eggs in the sand provides a feast for shorebirds
migrating north in the spring. In fact, the harvest of horseshoe crabs
by people is limited, since their eggs are such an important food
source for the migrating birds.) About two weeks after fertilization,
the eggs hatch into tiny, swimming juvenile horseshoe crabs (unlike
crustacean larvae) that are carried out to sea by the tide. Within a
month, they develop the spiked tails that are characteristic of the
adults.
As the horseshoe crab grows, its outer skin hardens to form the
carapace. The young animal settles to the bottom, where it feeds on
invertebrates in the sand. The horseshoe crab reaches sexual matu-
rity in about eight years. During this period of growth, the horse-
shoe crab undergoes many molts, casting off its outer shell each
time it grows. These cast-off shells are often found on beaches and
mistaken for dead crabs, because they look so complete. Horseshoe
crabs can live for as long as 20 years. Fossils of the horseshoe crab
show that this animal has not changed very much throughout its
more than 400-million-year history. For this reason, the horseshoe
crab is often described as a “living fossil.”

Crustaceans 251
 Marine Insects
Arthropods also include the marine insects. While insects tend not
to inhabit water with a high salinity (such as the open ocean), some
are found in habitats such as salt marshes. The ones that you are
most likely to come into contact with are the biting insects that live
in inland bays and marshes. They all possess a chitinous exoskele-
ton and jointed appendages, the characteristic features of all arthro-
pods. Unlike the crustaceans, insects have only three pairs of legs,
and a body made up of three segments (head, thorax, and
abdomen). Insects also differ from some other arthropods in that
they have just one set of antennae and one pair of eyes. They are
placed in their own class, Insecta, which comprises nearly a million
known species.
The most familiar of marine insects is the marsh mosquito. Mos-
quitoes draw blood from their hosts by using a specialized mouth-
part, the proboscis, like a hypodermic needle. Another common
marine insect is the greenhead fly, which is seen in salt marshes and
above sand dunes. One biting marine insect, the sand fly (Culi-
coides), commonly called the “no-see-um,” gets its name from the
fact that the insect is so small that you can be bitten by it without
even seeing it. This fly can transmit a fever to the people that it
bites.
Mosquitoes, and some species of flies, inhabit inland marine
habitats (such as estuaries) where the wave impact is slight. These
calm waters are less saline than the ocean; and they provide a flat
surface on which the insects can lay their eggs. The eggs develop
into larvae, which then develop and hatch into the adult insects.
The salt-marsh mosquito is a pest to humans, but it is food to the
fish and marine invertebrates that feed on its larvae.

10.4 SECTION REVIEW

1. Why is the horseshoe crab not classified as a true crab?
2. Explain why the horseshoe crab is considered a living fossil.
3. Why are mosquitoes classified as arthropods, along with such
animals as lobsters?

252 Marine Invertebrates

 Laboratory Investigation 10
Adaptations of Crabs

PROBLEM: How is the crab adapted for carrying out its life functions?

SKILL: Observing adaptive features of a crab’s external anatomy.

MATERIALS: frozen crabs (thawed), trays, hand lens, probe.

PROCEDURE

1. Put a crab on a tray with the dorsal side facing up. Tap the shell with your
pen. Notice the hardness of the shell. The shell is the crab’s exoskeleton.
Because the exoskeleton is rigid, the crab has to shed it, or molt, several
times during its lifetime as its body size increases. (See Figure 10-12.)

2. The body of a crab is divided into segments: the cephalothorax and the
abdomen. The cephalothorax is composed of two parts, the head and the
chest. The shell that covers the cephalothorax is the carapace. The abdomen
is located on the ventral side. Turn the crab over and look at the flat
abdomen, located between the legs. In the male, the abdomen is narrow
and V-shaped. In the female, it is wide and U-shaped.

Figure 10-12 External

Antennules Eyes
Antennae anatomy of a crab.

Cheliped (claw)

Walking
legs

Carapace Abdomen

Swimming legs

Crustaceans 253
 3. How does the crab move? Crabs use their legs, or appendages, for crawling
and swimming. Count the number of legs. There are five pairs (ten legs);
hence the name of the order to which crabs and lobsters belong: Decapoda
(deca meaning “ten”; pod meaning “foot”). Why are some of the legs
pointed and others flat? The pointed ones are used for crawling, and the flat
ones are used like paddles for swimming. Examine the first pair of legs, which
are modified as claws, called chelipeds. The chelipeds catch and hold food
and bring it to the mouth. Sketch the appendages in your notebook. Identify
which ones are used for swimming, crawling, and feeding.

4. How does the crab ingest food? Food is brought to the mouth by the claws.
Locate the mouth using your probe and hand lens. The mouth is surrounded
by several pairs of mouthparts, which are used for tasting, moving, and
shredding the food into smaller pieces.

5. How does the crab sense its environment? Use the hand lens to observe its
eyes and its antennae in the head region. The two eyes are mounted on
stalks. The two pairs of antennae are used to sense the environment. They
function as receptors for touch, temperature, sound, and smell.

OBSERVATIONS AND ANALYSES

1. What are the advantages and disadvantages of an exoskeleton?

2. What body parts does the crab use to ingest food?

3. How is the crab adapted for locomotion?

4. How does the crab sense its environment?

254 Marine Invertebrates

 Chapter 10 Review
Answer the following questions on a separate sheet of paper.

Vocabulary
The following list contains all the boldface terms in this chapter.

amphipods, arthropods, barnacle, book gills, carapace,

cephalothorax, chitin, cirri, copepod, crustaceans, exoskeleton,
horseshoe crab, isopods, krill, molting, swimmerets, telson

Fill In
Use one of the vocabulary terms listed above to complete each sentence.

1. A characteristic of all arthropods is their tough ____________________.

2. A crustacean’s head and chest regions make up the ____________________.
3. Paddlelike ____________________ are used for movement by crustaceans.
4. Crustaceans shed their shell in a process called ____________________.
5. A tiny crustacean at the base of ocean food chains is the
____________________.

Think and Write

Use the information in this chapter to respond to these items.

6. Compare and contrast feeding in the barnacle and the crab.

7. Identify the important features that are characteristic of all
arthropods.
8. Describe a main difference in isopod and amphipod body
shapes.

Inquiry
Base your answers to questions 9 to 12 on the experiment described
below and on your knowledge of marine science.

A student observed the movement of cirri in three groups of rock

barnacles kept at different water temperatures. He recorded the
number of cirri beats per minute for one (random) barnacle from

Crustaceans 255
 each group in six separate trials. All other conditions in the three
groups’ environments, such as levels of salinity and sunlight, were
kept constant for each group throughout the six trials. The results
are shown in the table below.

Trial Group A Group B Group C

Cirri beats Cirri beats Cirri beats
per minute per minute per minute
at 5°C at 15°C at 28°C

1 12 25 25

2 11 26 30

3 14 23 35

4 9 28 26

5 16 19 31

6 10 23 33

Total 72 144 180

Average 12 24 30

9. Which statement is most correct based on the data in the

table? a. Barnacles in group A showed the most cirri
activity. b. Barnacles in group B were, on average, twice as
active as those in group A. c. Barnacles in group C were the
least active of all the barnacles. d. All three groups of
barnacles showed little or no cirri activity.
10. The results of this experiment show that a. as temperature
increases, cirri activity decreases b. as temperature
decreases, cirri activity increases c. as temperature increases,
cirri activity increases d. there is no relationship between
temperature and cirri activity.
11. A tentative conclusion that can be drawn from the data is that
a. temperature has an effect on the life activities of barnacles
b. food is the only factor that affects cirri activity
c. barnacles are warm-blooded animals d. barnacles show
no response to changes in their environment.
12. When the student who performed this experiment wrote up
his results, he called it “The Effect of Temperature Change on

256 Marine Invertebrates

 Cirri Movement in Barnacles.” In one or more complete
sentences, describe and provide a reasonable scientific
explanation for the results obtained.

Multiple Choice
Choose the response that best completes the sentence or answers the
question.

13. In lobsters, the part of the shell that covers the cephalothorax
is the a. swimmeret b. carapace c. book gills
d. telson.
14. An important food source for filter-feeding whales is the
crustacean known as the a. scud b. krill c. barnacle
d. isopod.
15. The process of molting is related to the life function of
a. growth b. reproduction c. sensitivity d. digestion.
16. The horseshoe crab’s telson is used in a. reproduction
b. defense c. locomotion d. food-getting.
17. To escape predators, fiddler crabs will a. cover themselves
with seaweed b. hide in their sand tunnels c. change
their shell color d. lie motionless in the water.
18. Barnacles obtain food by means of appendages called
a. tentacles b. cirri c. swimmerets d. cilia.
19. Which arthropod is considered to be a living fossil?
a. hermit crab b. copepod c. horseshoe crab
d. sea roach

Refer to the following drawing of an arthropod to answer questions 20

and 21. A

20. This organism is classified as a type of

a. true crab b. horseshoe crab
c. amphipod d. copepod.
21. The structure labeled “A” is used for
a. swimming b. digging into sand
c. mating d. food-getting.

Crustaceans 257
 22. Which statement about crustaceans is true? a. All have the
same number of appendages. b. All have an internal
skeleton. c. All have an exoskeleton. d. Only some have
jointed appendages.
23. All of the following arthropods are crustaceans except the
a. lobster b. barnacle c. horseshoe crab d. beach flea.
24. The arthropod that lives as an encrusting organism is the
a. barnacle b. lobster c. hermit crab d. copepod.
25. The horseshoe crab breathes by means of its a. carapace
b. telson c. chelicera d. book gills.

Research/Activity

■ To find out if the presence of food particles increases feeding

response in barnacles, sprinkle some fish food into a container
of live barnacles. Count the number of times the cirri move per
minute (count beats for 15 seconds; then multiply by 4). Com-
pare with a control group that has not been fed. Record your
data in a table and draw a graph.
■ Barnacles cause problems when they coat the hulls of ships.
Unfortunately, the “antifouling” chemicals that have been used
to deter them are toxic to other forms of marine life. Report on
what is being done to try to find safer alternatives to these
chemicals.

258 Marine Invertebrates