Support and Movement
Support and Movement
Invertebrates such as crab, lobster, cockles, mussels, snails, beetles and grasshoppers have a hard outer skin. This is called the exoskeleton. The exoskeleton of garden snails, mussels and crabs is a hard shell.
c) The pectoral girdle supports the head and the arms d) The pelvic girdle supports the whole weight of the body. It also protects certain organs e) The limb bones allow the hands and legs to move easily
The deer and antelope with hollow long bones can move faster. This is especially important to vertebrates such as birds. Hollow bones are stronger and lighter than compact bones. Therefore, land vertebrates benefit from the strength of their hollow bones without having bear the extra weight of solid bones.
Support in aquatic vertebrates 1. The support system of aquatic vertebrates is not same as land vertebrates because life in water is very different from life on land. 2. Aquatic vertebrates such as whales and dolphins have smaller and lighter endoskeletons than land vertebrates. 3. This is because a large part of their body weight is supported by water buoyancy. Water buoyancy helps aquatic animals to move in water.