Ecdysis

High school (ages 12+)
Animals & Nature

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/ecdysis

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the related topics?Molting, Arthropoda, Nematoda, Hormonal Regulation, Regeneration, Exoskeleton Biomechanics, Developmental Biology
2. Why do animals need to shed their skin?Animals with rigid outer layers, like insects and crustaceans, can’t grow inside that shell, so they must shed it to become larger and to repair injuries.
3. How does the shedding process happen?First, the old skin separates from the body (apolysis). Then the animal makes a new soft skin underneath, pumps fluid to push the old skin off, and finally hardens the new skin with proteins and pigments.

Ecdysis: The physiological process of shedding an exoskeleton or cuticle to allow for growth and development.
Cuticle: A complex, multi-layered outer covering secreted by the epidermis, forming an exoskeleton in Ecdysozoa.
Exuviae: The discarded cuticle or exoskeleton remaining after an animal has molted.
Teneral: The post-molt condition characterized by a soft, pale, and unhardened cuticle, rendering the animal vulnerable.