The
mouthparts of
arthropods have
evolved into a number of forms, each
adapted to a different style or mode of feeding. Most mouthparts represent modified, paired
appendages, which in ancestral forms would have appeared more like legs than mouthparts. In general, arthropods have mouthparts for cutting and chewing, piercing and sucking, siphoning, and filtering. This article outlines the basic elements of four arthropod groups: insects, myriapods, crustaceans and chelicerates. Insects are used as the model, with the novel mouthparts of the other groups introduced in turn. Insects are not, however, the ancestral form of the other arthropods discussed here.