Definition of "arthropod" []

• Any of numerous invertebrate animals of the phylum Arthropoda, including the insects, crustaceans, arachnids, and myriapods, that are characterized by a chitinous exoskeleton and a segmented body to which jointed appendages are articulated in pairs. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "From the diminutive to the rather large, something for fans of invertebrates, Hurdia victoria, a half-meter long predatory arthropod from the famous Cambrian-aged Burgess Shale of British Columbia."
• "Researchers who have had the chance to see the amazing fossil say that the only thing you need to investigate the arthropod is a microscope."
• "The team has so far recorded 100 different arthropod species, but Rust said they expect to find more, some of which are likely to be close relatives of animals in Africa and Madagascar."