What feature provides protection and support in arthropods and is jointed to allow movement?

• A. Endoskeleton
• B. Exoskeleton
• C. Cartilage
• D. Notochord

Answer: (B)

An exoskeleton provides protection and support for arthropods, and its surface is organized into joints that allow movement. This external shell shields soft tissues from injury and desiccation while forming a rigid framework to which muscles attach, letting limbs and body segments move at hinged joints. Because the skeleton is outside the body, arthropods grow by molting—periodically shedding the old exoskeleton and forming a larger one to accommodate growth. This external, jointed armor distinguishes it from internal skeletons or tissues: an endoskeleton is found inside vertebrates, cartilage is a flexible connective tissue in many animals, and a notochord is a rod characteristic of chordates, not arthropods.