Carbohydrates serve various functions in different animals. Arthropods like insects, crustaceans, and others, have an outer layer, called the exoskeleton, which protects their internal body parts. This exoskeleton is made mostly of chitin. Chitin is also a major component of the cell walls of fungi, the kingdom that includes molds and mushrooms. Chitin is a polysaccharide. What is the major difference between chitin and other types of polysaccharides