MRS. VITALE & MS. GROCHOWSKI
BIOLOGY 416
 | The Animal's Name: Latin and common names |
| Anatomy/Appearance: What does your arthropod look like? How big is it? What does an average one weigh?. How many legs does it have? Are its legs long or short? Does it molt as it grows? Draw a picture or print one out if you can. |
| Locomotion: How does your arthropod move (does it walk, fly, jump, burrow, etc.)? Is it slow-moving or fast-moving? Why is this important to its survival? For example, most fast-moving animals are fast so that they can catch dinner or avoid becoming dinner. |
| Diet: What does your arthropod eat and how does it get its food? Is it an herbivore (plant eater), carnivore (meat eater), omnivore (eating meat and plants), or something else? Is there something unusual in the way your arthropod eats? |
| Habitat and Range: What type of biome does this arthropod prefer (does it live in the desert, swamp, tundra, deep sea, coral reef, tropical rainforest, pond, or other habitat)? Where in the world does it live? List the continent(s), country/countries, and/or smaller areas that it lives in. |
| Adaptations: What are the obvious adaptations of your arthropod to its environment? For example, the giraffe's neck is an adaptation for obtaining leaves that are high off the ground. It also has tough lips to avoid thorns on its main food source. |
| Life Cycle/Reproduction: Give information on the arthropods life cycle and reproduction. For example, in the case of insects, list and describe each stage in the process of their metamorphosis. Where does it lay its eggs? |
| Behavior: Describe interesting features of your arthropod’s behavior. For example: Does it live in groups or is it a solitary animal? Does it burrow underground? Is it nocturnal (most active at night)? |
| Defense/Offense: How does it defend itself (and/or attack other animals)? Does it use fangs, claws, armor, pincers, poison, a stinger, , a strong smell, and/or something else? |
| Enemies: What animals eat or otherwise kill your arthropod? For example, for caterpillars, birds eat them, but wasps also lay their eggs in the caterpillars, and this eventually kills them. |
| Species Survival Status: Is this arthropod species in danger of extinction? If so, why? Has it lost habitat, lost a food source, or has it been overhunted? |
| Something Special: Is there anything special about this arthropod? This can often be the best part of the report, taking you off on interesting topics. For example, are there legends about the arthropod? |
| Classification: How is this animal classified and what animals is it closely related to? |
