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(I have tried to fix this question as best as possible with the help provided from the staff of the site.)

I have started to develop my own crustacean species that resembles ants slightly. I would like this species to be humanoid in physique with a height around 1.2 meters (3 feet)

I was wondering if such a species could exist on a planet, I have thought of a few possible obstacles:

If this species had a thicker shell covering the body, this would very likely be heavy and would require an inner-skeleton support system to support the weight. A thicker shell would be a lot heavier with the sturdiness with it too, but with having a thinner shell to save weight but this would be more brittle and fragile. Having this shell would also need a muscular system regardless.

This inner-skeleton support could allow it to forage around for food on beach areas with a stronger muscular system.

I was also thinking of having the species evolve basic sapience, allowing them to be somewhat primitive and to use some basic tools to gain a few abilities.

What different elements would this planet need to support such a species like this? Any comments on my ideas would be appreciated. :) Thank you

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    $\begingroup$ "thinner shell to save weight but this would be more brittle and fragile" -- use attested and reliable solution: scales. $\endgroup$
    – Radovan Garabík
    Commented Jan 3, 2016 at 8:54
  • $\begingroup$ 1.2 meters is 4 feet; 3 feet is 0.9 meters $\endgroup$
    – ventsyv
    Commented Jan 8, 2016 at 15:51

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To begin, the planet might need to have lower gravity, enabling your creature to effectively carry its heavy shell. This would mean that plants and animals would be much larger and live longer than they do on earth. Your planet would also have to have a respectable amount of water, considering that your chosen biome for them to inhabit is beaches. Other than that, it seems like your planet might as well be Earth. Although, all you really need to do is consider what planet your creature would live on, then adapt your species appropriately.

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This species would need to eat enough to fuel itself. That's a requirement that it can find enough food. Thus, what it eats needs to abound. Not a biggie.

It needs to respire. That's a touch trickier. Assuming this is organic in the earthy sense, our will need plenty of oxygen. The oxygen in the tidal range is higher than deeper, but a good chunk of this critter is going to need to be devoted to breathing or the world will need a rich oxygen supply.

Structurally, you described ant like. If, by this, you mean that the guys move about in multiple legs and most of their body stays pretty flat, both stability and circulation are simpler. The latter more due to pressure similarities while the former due to torque.

I realised just then that you may be wanting something that only is crustacean aesthetically, so more legs, or a distributed circulation scheme could work. If you're willing to accept some deviations from true crustaceans, I think the critters could reasonably survive earth.

If not, vibrating and oxygen rich environments can help get the goodies through the body, say. Also, as I suggested in another similar question, some structures could provide some "blood" flow, even if not a true heart.

Some quirks might allow regions to stash resources in local tissues so that while the thing averages fairly slow (so it doesn't surpass its ability to respire) it can make bursts of activity.

Some ideas to play with, for ya.

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