Acantherpestes

Acantherpestes Temporal range: Moscovian PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Fossil of Acantherpestes major
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Subphylum:	Myriapoda
Class:	Diplopoda
Order:	† Euphoberiida
Family:	† Euphoberiidae
Genus:	† Acantherpestes Meek and Worthen, 1868
Type species
Acantherpestes major
Other species
A. horridus(Scudder, 1882)

Acantherpestes is an extinct genus of euphoberiid millipedes from the Pennsylvanian subperiod of the Carboniferous period. It is distinguished from other euphoberiids by its stout, laterally-directed spikes, which are curved backwards and bear an anterior ridge. ^[1] It is known from the Mazon Creek fossil beds in Illinois. ^[2]

Life restoration of Acantherpestes major

Acantherpestes was a relatively large millipede. Paleoentomologist J.J. Burke speculated that Acantherpestes could have lived in open habitats adjacent to coal swamp forests, ^[2] and that it was possibly carnivorous, ^[1] but later authors have rejected the latter proposal. ^{[3] [4]}

References

1. Burke, J.J. (1979). "A new millipede genus, Myriacantherpestes (Diplopoda, Archipolypoda) and a new species, Myriacantherpestes bradebirksi, from the English coal measures". Kirtlandia. 30: 1–24.
2. Burke, J.J. (1973-06-29). "Notes on the morphology of Acantherpestes (Myriapoda, Archypolypoda) with the description of a new species from the Pennsylvanian of West Virginia". Kirtlandia. 17: 1–24.
3. Shear, William A. (1993). "Myriapodous arthropods from the Viséan of East Kirkton, West Lothian, Scotland" (PDF). Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh: Earth Sciences. 84: 309–316. doi:10.1017/S026359330000612X.
4. Shear, William A.; Kukalová-Peck, Jarmila (1990). "The ecology of Paleozoic terrestrial arthropods: the fossil evidence" (PDF). Canadian Journal of Zoology. 68: 1807–1833. doi:10.1139/z90-262.