If so, how does it work? Do they just molt into larger skeletons?
In: Biology
Vertebrates usually can’t swap in a larger skeleton when they get too heavy, and so they just expand outwards and get fat.
Arthropods *can* molt into a larger exoskeleton when they’re getting a bit snug, and so instead of getting fat they actually get taller and stronger.
Your typical American lobster is about a foot long and five pounds, but once in a great while fishermen will catch a three foot long, forty pound monster that has been outcompeting everyone else for decades.
These beasts get thrown back in, as they’re the kings and queens of the breeding cycle and keep the population up.
Land arthropods are more limited in size because their heavy armor and inefficient respiratory systems don’t scale well.
Latest Answers