biology Biology is the scientific study of life and living organisms. It is a broad natural science that encompasses a wide range of fields and unifying principles that explain the structure, function, growth, History of life, origin, evolution, and ...

, exuviae are the remains of an

exoskeleton An exoskeleton () . is a skeleton that is on the exterior of an animal in the form of hardened integument, which both supports the body's shape and protects the internal organs, in contrast to an internal endoskeleton (e.g. human skeleton, that ...

and related structures that are left after

ecdysozoa Ecdysozoa () is a group of protostome animals, including Arthropoda (insects, chelicerates (including arachnids), crustaceans, and myriapods), Nematoda, and several smaller phylum (biology), phyla. The grouping of these animal phyla into a single ...

ns (including

insect Insects (from Latin ') are Hexapoda, hexapod invertebrates of the class (biology), class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (Insect morphology#Head, head, ...

crustacean Crustaceans (from Latin meaning: "those with shells" or "crusted ones") are invertebrate animals that constitute one group of arthropods that are traditionally a part of the subphylum Crustacea (), a large, diverse group of mainly aquatic arthrop ...

s and

arachnid Arachnids are arthropods in the Class (biology), class Arachnida () of the subphylum Chelicerata. Arachnida includes, among others, spiders, scorpions, ticks, mites, pseudoscorpions, opiliones, harvestmen, Solifugae, camel spiders, Amblypygi, wh ...

s) have molted. The exuviae of an animal can be important to

biologist A biologist is a scientist who conducts research in biology. Biologists are interested in studying life on Earth, whether it is an individual Cell (biology), cell, a multicellular organism, or a Community (ecology), community of Biological inter ...

s as they can often be used to identify the

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

of the animal and even its

sex Sex is the biological trait that determines whether a sexually reproducing organism produces male or female gametes. During sexual reproduction, a male and a female gamete fuse to form a zygote, which develops into an offspring that inheri ...

. As studying insects, crustaceans, or arachnids directly is not always possible, and because exuviae can be collected fairly easily, they can play an important part in helping to determine some general aspects of a species' overall

life cycle Life cycle, life-cycle, or lifecycle may refer to: Science and academia *Biological life cycle, the sequence of life stages that an organism undergoes from conception to reproduction *Life-cycle hypothesis, in economics *Erikson's stages of psy ...

such as distribution, sex ratio, production, and proof of breeding in a

habitat In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...

. Exuviae have been suggested as a "gold standard" for insect monitoring. For instance, when monitoring dragonfly populations, the presence of exuviae of a species demonstrates that the species has completed its full life cycle from egg to adult in a habitat. However, it has also been suggested that the fact that exuviae can be hard to find could lead to an underestimation of insect species compared to, for example, counting adult insects. The Latin word ''exuviae'', meaning "things stripped from a body", is found only in the plural. ''Exuvia'' is a derived singular form, although this is a

neologism In linguistics, a neologism (; also known as a coinage) is any newly formed word, term, or phrase that has achieved popular or institutional recognition and is becoming accepted into mainstream language. Most definitively, a word can be considered ...

, and not attested in texts by Roman authors. A few modern works use the singular noun ''exuvium'' (e.g.). Only a single historical work by

Propertius Sextus Propertius was a Latin elegiac poet of the Augustan age. He was born around 50–45 BC in Assisium (now Assisi) and died shortly after 15 BC. Propertius' surviving work comprises four books of '' Elegies'' ('). He was a friend of the ...

uses the singular form ''exuvium'', but in the meaning "spoils, booty".

Gallery

Anyphops02.jpg, ''

Anyphops ''Anyphops'' is a genus of Selenopidae, wall spiders that was first described by P. L. G. Benoit in 1968. Species it contains sixty-four species, found in Africa and on Saint Helena: *''Anyphops alticola, A. alticola'' (Lawrence, 1940) – South ...

'' Platypleura.jpg, Cicada ''

Platypleura ''Platypleura'' is a genus of cicadas, occurring widely across Africa and southern Asia; it belongs to the tribe Platypleurini and species previously included here are now placed in other genera, such as '' Planopleura'' and '' Dyticopycna''. S ...

'' Cicada molting animated-2.gif, Accelerated view of a cicada molting Hymenopus coronatus MHNT Exuvie.jpg,

Orchid mantis ''Hymenopus coronatus'' is a mantis from the tropical forests of Southeast Asia. It is known by various common names, including walking flower mantis, orchid-blossom mantis and (pink) orchid mantis. It is one of several species known as '' flowe ...

Euscorpion exuvia 2.jpg, Scorpion Anax imperator Exuvie MHNT Parc de la Maourine.jpg, Dragonfly ''

Anax imperator The emperor dragonfly or blue emperor (''Anax imperator'') is a large species of hawker dragonfly of the family Aeshnidae. It is the largest dragonfly in most of Europe, including the United Kingdom, although exceeded in some areas by other speci ...

'' Asclepias syriaca-Oncopeltus fasciatus-exuviae.jpg,

Large milkweed bug ''Oncopeltus fasciatus'', known as the large milkweed bug, is a medium-sized hemipteran (true bug) of the family Lygaeidae.Attisano, A. (2013) Oosorption and migratory strategy of the milkweed bug,''Oncopeltus fasciatus. Animal Behaviour 86(3):65 ...

File:Danaus plexippus emerging from chrysalis 04.jpg, Emergent

monarch butterfly The monarch butterfly or simply monarch (''Danaus plexippus'') is a milkweed butterfly (subfamily Danainae) in the family Nymphalidae. Other common names, depending on region, include milkweed, common tiger, wanderer, and black-veined brown. I ...

clinging to exuviae

References

External links

Insect anatomy Spider anatomy {{insect-anatomy-stub