Millipedes are a group of arthropods that are characterised by having two pairs of jointed legs on most body segments; they are known scientifically as the class Diplopoda, the name derived from this feature. Each double-legged segment is a result of two single segments fused together. Most millipedes have very elongated cylindrical or flattened bodies with more than 20 segments, while pill millipedes are shorter and can roll into a tight ball. Although the name "millipede" derives from Latin for "thousand feet", no species was known to have 1,000 or more until the discovery in 2020 of Eumillipes persephone, which can have over 1,300 legs. There are approximately 12,000 named species classified into 16 orders and around 140 families, making Diplopoda the largest class of myriapods, an arthropod group which also includes centipedes and other multi-legged creatures.
Centipedes are predatory arthropods belonging to the class Chilopoda of the subphylum Myriapoda, an arthropod group which includes millipedes and other multi-legged animals. Centipedes are elongated segmented (metameric) creatures with one pair of legs per body segment. All centipedes are venomous and can inflict painful stings, injecting their venom through pincer-like appendages known as forcipules or toxicognaths, which are actually modified legs instead of fangs. Despite the name, no species of centipede has exactly 100 legs; the number of pairs of legs is an odd number that ranges from 15 pairs to 191 pairs.
Pill millipedes are any members of two living orders of millipedes, often grouped together into a single superorder, Oniscomorpha. The name Oniscomorpha refers to the millipedes' resemblance to certain woodlice (Oniscidea), also called pillbugs or "roly-polies". However, millipedes and woodlice are not closely related ; rather, this is a case of convergent evolution.
Pneumodesmus newmani is a species of myriapod. It is originally considered that it lived during the late Wenlock epoch of the Silurian period around 428 million years ago. However, a 2017 study dates its occurrence based on zircon data analysis as the Early Devonian (Lochkovian). Although the 2023 study confirmed the age identification of the 2004 study through palynological, palaeobotanical and zircon analyses incorporating newly discovered additional data, this is based on adjacent structurally separated block with different stratigraphy and sedimentology to the block with fossil site it was discovered, and it is confirmed as unsustainable. It is one of the first myriapods, and among the oldest creatures to have lived on land. It was discovered in 2004, and is known from a single specimen from Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire, Scotland.
† Bembexia is a genus of fossil sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks. This genus is placed in the subfamily Eotomariinae, of the family Eotomariidae. The shell characters resemble those of Balbinipleura. These snails have been interpreted as herbivorous, probably grazing on algae.
Paleontology in Oklahoma refers to paleontological research occurring within or conducted by people from the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Oklahoma has a rich fossil record spanning all three eras of the Phanerozoic Eon. Oklahoma is the best source of Pennsylvanian fossils in the United States due to having an exceptionally complete geologic record of the epoch. From the Cambrian to the Devonian, all of Oklahoma was covered by a sea that would come to be home to creatures like brachiopods, bryozoans, graptolites and trilobites. During the Carboniferous, an expanse of coastal deltaic swamps formed in areas of the state where early tetrapods would leave behind footprints that would later fossilize. The sea withdrew altogether during the Permian period. Oklahoma was home a variety of insects as well as early amphibians and reptiles. Oklahoma stayed dry for most of the Mesozoic. During the Late Triassic, carnivorous dinosaurs left behind footprints that would later fossilize. During the Cretaceous, however, the state was mostly covered by the Western Interior Seaway, which was home to huge ammonites and other marine invertebrates. During the Cenozoic, Oklahoma became home to creatures like bison, camels, creodonts, and horses. During the Ice Age, the state was home to mammoths and mastodons. Local Native Americans are known to have used fossils for medicinal purposes. The Jurassic dinosaur Saurophaganax maximus is the Oklahoma state fossil.
Archipolypoda is an extinct group of millipedes known from fossils in Europe and North America and containing the earliest known land animals. The Archipolypoda was erected by Scudder (1882) but redefined in 2005 with the description of several new species from Scotland. Distinguishing characteristics include relatively large eyes with densely packed ocelli, and modified leg pairs on the 8th body ring. Some species had prominent spines while others had a flattened appearance.
Xyloiuloidea is an extinct superfamily of millipedes that existed from the Lower Devonian through the Upper Pennsylvanian period in Europe and North America.
Euphoberiidae is an extinct family of archipolypodan millipedes known from the Upper Pennsylvanian of Europe and North America. The family includes relatively large millipedes measuring up to 30 cm (12 in) long bearing distinctive spines and were the dominant millipedes of the Pennsylvanian.
Pleurojulidae is an extinct family of millipedes known from the Westphalian stage of the upper Carboniferous that are distinct enough to be placed in their own order, Pleurojulida. Fossil pleurojulids up to 10 centimeters long are known from Europe and the United States.
The Escuminac Formation is a geologic formation in Quebec. It preserves fossils dating back to the Frasnian, in the Devonian period.
The Campbellton Formation is a geologic formation in New Brunswick. It preserves fossils dating back to the latest Pragian and Emsian of the Devonian period.
Cowiedesmus is an extinct millipede genus described from Scotland, and is considered as earliest known land animals alongside Pneumodesmus from same formation. It is originally considered that it is from the middle Silurian, a 2017 study suggested that the geological formation it contains actually appears to be from the Early Devonian (Lochkovian) instead. Although a 2023 study confirmed the age identification of the 2004 study through palynological, palaeobotanical and ziron analyses incorporating newly discovered additional data, this is based on adjacent structurally separated block with different stratigraphy and sedimentology to the block with fossil site it was discovered, and it is confirmed as unsustainable. Cowiedesmus was about 4 cm (1.6 in) long and characterized by a greatly enlarged pair of legs on the 8th segment which may have been used in clasping females or functioned as gonopods. Coweiedesmus is distinct enough from other living and fossil millipedes to be placed in its own order, Cowiedesmida. The only known species, C. eroticopodus, was described in 2004.
Archidesmus is an extinct millipede genus from the Lower Devonian Old Red Sandstone of the United Kingdom. It is the only member of the taxonomic family Archidesmidae. Individuals were up to 5 cm (2.0 in) long, and had 60 to 80 body segments decorated with tubercles (bumps) on the upper surface, and most segments possessed wing-like keels (paranota) extending to the side. The type species Archidesmus macnicoli was described by British paleontologist Benjamin Peach in 1882. A second species, A. loganensis was also described by Peach but its status as a valid species- or even a myriapod- is debated.
The Cowie Formation is geological formation located on the Highland Boundary Fault between the fishing village of Cowie and Ruthery Head, in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Age of this formation is controversial, that was originally estimated at the Middle Silurian, Wenlock to Ludlow, but zircon geochronology shows the Early Devonian, Lochkovian instead. In study published in 2023, according to spore microfossils and additional zircon data, the Middle Silurian, late Wenlock age is suggested again. However, in 2024 it is considered as unsustainable because this conclusion is based on adjacent structurally separated block with different stratigraphy and sedimentology to the block with fossil productive Fish Bed. This formation preserves fossils, including a millipedes such as Pneumodesmus and Cowiedesmus that were discovered by Mike Newman in 2001, and some agnathan like Cowielepis.
Zanclodesmus willetti is an extinct species of archipolypodan millipede that lived in the Late Devonian period of North America, approximately 380 million years ago. It was described in 2005 based on a fossil discovered in the Escuminac Formation of Quebec, Canada two years prior. It was approximately 44 mm (1.7 in) long and 10 mm wide with 27 body segments, and had kidney shaped patches of ocelli. Each trunk segment had long, sickle-shaped extensions (paranota) projecting laterally, and was decorated on the dorsal surface with low rectangular bosses ("bumps") bordered by crescent-shaped bosses. The genus name Zanclodesmus derives from Greek Zanklon, meaning "sickle", in reference to the long, curved paranota, and desmus, a common root word in millipedes. The species name willietti honors Miguasha National Park warden Jason Willett, who discovered the fossil.
Palaeodesmus tuberculata is an extinct species of millipede known from the lower Devonian period of modern-day Scotland. It was originally described as "Kampecaris tuberculata" by the Reverend Stanley Graham Brade-Birks, but was placed in its own new genus, Palaeodesmus, in 2004. Palaeodesmus has three rows of tubercles or bosses in the shape of round-edged squares or rectangles on the dorsal portion of each body segment. Palaeodesmus is a member of the extinct group Archipolypoda, but its anatomy is too poorly known to place it confidently within any known taxonomic family or order, and so it remains incertae sedis, although possibly related to archidesmidan species such as Archidesmus.
Juliformia is a taxonomic superorder of millipedes containing three living orders: Julida, Spirobolida, and Spirostreptida, and the extinct group Xyloiuloidea known only from fossils.
Amynilyspes is an extinct genus of pill millipedes characterized by fourteen tergites, large eyes, and prominent spines. Individuals measure up to 30 mm (1.2 in) in length.
Kampecaris is an extinct genus comprising the Kampecarida, an enigmatic group of millipede-like arthropods, from the Silurian and early Devonian periods of Scotland and England. They are among the oldest known land-dwelling animals. They were small, short-bodied animals with three recognizable sections: an oval head divided along the midline, ten limb-bearing segments forming a cylindrical trunk that tapered slightly towards the front, and a characteristic swollen tail formed by a modified segment that tapers at its rear into an "anal segment". The cuticle forming their exoskeletons was thick, heavily calcified, and composed of two layers.
