Myriapoda

Myriapods; Temporal range:
	Representatives of the four extant myriapod classes. Clockwise from top left: Chilopoda, Diplopoda, Symphyla, and Pauropoda.
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Clade:	Mandibulata
Subphylum:	Myriapoda; Latreille, 1802
Classes
	Chilopoda; Diplopoda; Pauropoda; Symphyla;

Myriapods (from Ancient Greek μυρίος (muríos) 'countless', and πούς (poús) 'foot') are the members of subphylum Myriapoda, containing arthropods such as millipedes and centipedes. The group contains about 13,000 species, all of them terrestrial.^[2]

Although molecular evidence and similar fossils suggests a diversification in the Cambrian Period,^[3]^[2] the oldest known fossil record of myriapods dates between the Late Silurian and Early Devonian,^[4]^[5] with Pneumodesmus preserving the earliest known evidence of air-breathing on land.^[6]^[7] Other early myriapod fossil species around the similar time period include Kampecaris obanensis and Archidesmus sp.^[8] The phylogenetic classification of myriapods is still debated.

The scientific study of myriapods is myriapodology, and those who study myriapods are myriapodologists.^[9]

^ "Myriapoda". Integrated Taxonomic Information System.
^ ^a ^b Ben Waggoner (February 21, 1996). "Introduction to the Myriapoda". University of California, Berkeley. Retrieved November 9, 2021.
^ Markus Friedrich & Diethard Tautz (2002). "Ribosomal DNA phylogeny of the major extant arthropod classes and the evolution of myriapods". Nature. 376 (6536): 165–167. Bibcode:1995Natur.376..165F. doi:10.1038/376165a0. PMID 7603566. S2CID 4270910.
^ Wellman, C.H.; Lopes, G.; McKellar, Z.; Hartley, A. (2023). "Age of the basal 'Lower Old Red Sandstone' Stonehaven Group of Scotland: The oldest reported air-breathing land animal is Silurian (late Wenlock) in age". Journal of the Geological Society. 181. The Geological Society of London. doi:10.1144/jgs2023-138. hdl:2164/22754. ISSN 0016-7649.
^ Brookfield, M. E.; Catlos, E. J.; Garza, H. (2024-07-07). "The oldest 'millipede'-plant association? Age, paleoenvironments and sources of the Silurian lake sediments at Kerrera, Argyll and Bute, Scotland". Historical Biology: 1–13. doi:10.1080/08912963.2024.2367554. ISSN 0891-2963.
^ Rowland Shelley & Paul Marek (March 1, 2005). "Millipede Fossils". East Carolina University. Archived from the original on May 27, 2011.
^ Garwood, Russell J.; Edgecombe, Gregory D. (September 2011). "Early Terrestrial Animals, Evolution, and Uncertainty". Evolution: Education and Outreach. 4 (3): 489–501. doi:10.1007/s12052-011-0357-y.
^ Brookfield, M. E.; Catlos, E. J.; Suarez, S. E. (2021-10-03). "Myriapod divergence times differ between molecular clock and fossil evidence: U/Pb zircon ages of the earliest fossil millipede-bearing sediments and their significance". Historical Biology. 33 (10): 2014–2018. Bibcode:2021HBio...33.2014B. doi:10.1080/08912963.2020.1762593. ISSN 0891-2963. S2CID 238220137.
^ Sue Hubbell (2000). Waiting for Aphrodite: Journeys Into the Time Before Bones. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. p. 53. ISBN 978-0-618-05684-2.

[1] "Myriapoda". Integrated Taxonomic Information System.

[Berkeley-2] Ben Waggoner (February 21, 1996). "Introduction to the Myriapoda". University of California, Berkeley. Retrieved November 9, 2021.

[3] Markus Friedrich & Diethard Tautz (2002). "Ribosomal DNA phylogeny of the major extant arthropod classes and the evolution of myriapods". Nature. 376 (6536): 165–167. Bibcode:1995Natur.376..165F. doi:10.1038/376165a0. PMID 7603566. S2CID 4270910.

[4] Wellman, C.H.; Lopes, G.; McKellar, Z.; Hartley, A. (2023). "Age of the basal 'Lower Old Red Sandstone' Stonehaven Group of Scotland: The oldest reported air-breathing land animal is Silurian (late Wenlock) in age". Journal of the Geological Society. 181. The Geological Society of London. doi:10.1144/jgs2023-138. hdl:2164/22754. ISSN 0016-7649.

[5] Brookfield, M. E.; Catlos, E. J.; Garza, H. (2024-07-07). "The oldest 'millipede'-plant association? Age, paleoenvironments and sources of the Silurian lake sediments at Kerrera, Argyll and Bute, Scotland". Historical Biology: 1–13. doi:10.1080/08912963.2024.2367554. ISSN 0891-2963.

[myriapoda-6] Rowland Shelley & Paul Marek (March 1, 2005). "Millipede Fossils". East Carolina University. Archived from the original on May 27, 2011.

[Garwood-7] Garwood, Russell J.; Edgecombe, Gregory D. (September 2011). "Early Terrestrial Animals, Evolution, and Uncertainty". Evolution: Education and Outreach. 4 (3): 489–501. doi:10.1007/s12052-011-0357-y.

[:4-8] Brookfield, M. E.; Catlos, E. J.; Suarez, S. E. (2021-10-03). "Myriapod divergence times differ between molecular clock and fossil evidence: U/Pb zircon ages of the earliest fossil millipede-bearing sediments and their significance". Historical Biology. 33 (10): 2014–2018. Bibcode:2021HBio...33.2014B. doi:10.1080/08912963.2020.1762593. ISSN 0891-2963. S2CID 238220137.

[9] Sue Hubbell (2000). Waiting for Aphrodite: Journeys Into the Time Before Bones. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. p. 53. ISBN 978-0-618-05684-2.

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