decapod

Everyday

(science) A decapod is a crustacean with ten legs, such as a crab, lobster, shrimp, prawn or crayfish. tree →

In the lessons

In science lessons about animal groups: decapods belong to the crustaceans, which belong to the arthropods (animals with jointed legs and a hard outer skeleton). Two of the ten legs are often big claws (pincers).

Examples

• A crab is a decapod because it has ten legs. tree →
• Lobsters and prawns are decapods too. tree →
• The front two legs of many decapods are claws. tree →
• Decapods have a hard shell called an exoskeleton. tree →
• We counted the legs to prove the crayfish was a decapod. tree →
• Some squids are also called decapods because they have ten arms. tree →

Note

Countable. «Deca» means ten; «pod» means foot. Note: in older books, squids were also called decapods (ten arms), so the word has two scientific uses.