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Arthropod

Arthropods (Phylum Arthropoda) are the largest phylum of animals and include the insects, arachnids, crustaceans, and other similar creatures. In approximate statistics, over eighty percent extant (living today) animal species are arthropods, with over a million modern species described and a fossil record reaching back to the early Cambrian. Arthropods are common throughout marine, freshwater, terrestrial, and even aerial environments, as well as including various symbiotic and parasitic forms. They range in size from microscopic plankton (~0.25 mm) up to forms several metres long.


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