Soft-Shell Crab Is a Prized Dish in Many Seaside Resorts

question 40

Multiple Choice

Soft-shell crab is a prized dish in many seaside resorts. Why are the crabs' shells soft?

• A) The crab has just moulted and the new exoskeleton has not yet hardened.
• B) These species of crabs live under rocks and therefore have lost the hard exoskeleton over evolutionary time.
• C) These species have evolved a light and soft exoskeleton so that gases can diffuse directly between body of the crab and the surrounding water.
• D) These species have evolved a light and soft exoskeleton so that they can float in the water column.

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Definitions:

Genotype

The genetic makeup of an individual organism, encompassing all of its genes and their variants.

Genetic Material

The molecules that carry the biological information necessary for an organism's growth, development, functioning, and reproduction, primarily DNA.

Developmental Scientist

A researcher who studies how human beings change over the course of their life, particularly during childhood and adolescence, across various domains such as cognitive, emotional, and social development.

Sexual Reproduction

A biological process by which organisms create offspring through the combination of genetic material from two different genders.