Students in Biology II participate in crawfish dissection lab

Mrs. Lawson’s Biology II classes performed dissections on crawfish to learn more about the kingdom Animalia, phylum Arthropoda, and class Crustacea this week.

The students were tasked to list three characteristics that arthropods share, name two other animals in the same subphylum as crawfish, and locate several areas of the animal’s anatomy, including: the maxillipeds, mandible, antennae, eyes, chelipeds (claws), swimmerets and more. Students labeled several of these body parts within their lab packets and found the average length of both female and male crawfish.

From there, students dissected the animal to locate the gills, describing them as feathery. Each had to answer a series of questions about the animal’s anatomy to better understand the function of each.

Learn more about the lab from student Ali Ware below!

Photos from the lab can be viewed below.