Chitin

Chitin is a semitransparent material that is the main component of the exoskeletons of arthropods, such as crustaceans (e.g. crab, lobster and shrimp) and insects (e.g. ants, beetles and butterflies), of the cell walls of fungi, the radula of molluscs and the beaks of cephalopods (e.g. squid, and octopuses). Chitin has also proven useful for several medical and industrial purposes.

The entire exterior of a grasshopper is chitin.

A butterfly's head and chest are covered with plates of hard chitin, while the abdomen is covered with soft chitin. The wings also are a chitinous membrane.

Other websites

• Chitin Product Information from China GreatVista Chemicals Archived 2006-06-20 at the Wayback Machine
• Horseshoe Crab Chitin Research Archived 2009-06-26 at the Wayback Machine