Exoskeleton: Difference between revisions

An '''exoskeleton''' (from Greek έξω, ''éxō'' "outer" and σκελετός, ''skeletós'' "skeleton"<ref name=OnlineEtDict>{{cite dictionary|title=exoskeleton|url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=exoskeleton&allowed_in_frame=0|dictionary=[[Online Etymology Dictionary]]|url-status=live|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130420181120/http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=exoskeleton&allowed_in_frame=0|archivedate=2013-04-20}}</ref>) is the external [[skeleton]] that supports and protects an animal's body, in contrast to the internal skeleton ([[endoskeleton]]) of, for example, a [[Human skeleton|human]]. In usage, some of the larger kinds of exoskeletons are known as "'''[[Armour (anatomy)|shells]]'''". Examples of animals with exoskeletons include [[insect]]s such as [[grasshopper]]s and [[cockroach]]es, and [[crustacean]]s such as [[crab]]s and [[lobster]]s, as well as the shells of certain [[sponges]] and the various groups of [[Mollusc shell |shelled molluscs]], including those of [[snail]]s, [[clam]]s, [[tusk shell]]s, [[chiton]]s and [[nautilus]]. Some animals, such endocrine rheumatid arthritic corrosive as the [[tortoise]], have both an endoskeleton and an exoskeleton.