Exuviae

Exuvia of an Antarctic krill. Many details are still there: the filtering basket, the compound eye, the gastric mill

Exuvia (alternative spelling exuvium, plural: exuviae^[1]^[2]) is a term used in biology to describe the remains of an exoskeleton that is left after an arthropod (insect, crustacean or arachnid) has moulted. The exuvia of an animal can be important to biologists as it can often be used identify the species of the animal and even its sex.

As it is not always practical to study insects, crustaceans or arachnids directly and because exuviae can be collected fairly easily, exuviae can play an important part in helping to determine some general aspects of a species overall life cycle such as distribution, sex ratio, production and proof of breeding in a habitat.

Exuvia of a tarantula. You can see into the openings where the legs once were

Exuvia of a horseshoe crab. Ventral view with all the legs visible

References

^ Torre-Bueno, J.R. de la, et al. (1989) The Torre-Bueno Glossary of Entomology, rev. ed. New York: New York Entomological Society. 840 pp. ISBN 0913424137
^ Grimaldi, D. and Engel, M.S. (2005) Evolution of the Insects. Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0-521-82149-5]]

External links

[1] Torre-Bueno, J.R. de la, et al. (1989) The Torre-Bueno Glossary of Entomology, rev. ed. New York: New York Entomological Society. 840 pp. ISBN 0913424137

[2] Grimaldi, D. and Engel, M.S. (2005) Evolution of the Insects. Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0-521-82149-5]]

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