What is "myriapoda"

Myriapoda \Myr`i*ap"o*da\, n. pl. [NL., fr. Gr. ? numberless + -poda.] (Zo["o]l.) A class, or subclass, of arthropods, related to the hexapod insects, from which they differ in having the body made up of numerous similar segments, nearly all of which bear true jointed legs. They have one pair of antenn[ae], three pairs of mouth organs, and numerous trache[ae], similar to those of true insects. The larv[ae], when first hatched, often have but three pairs of legs. See Centiped, Galleyworm, Milliped.

Note: The existing Myriapoda are divided into three orders: Chilopoda, Chilognatha or Diplopoda, and Pauropoda (see these words in the Vocabulary). Large fossil species (very different from any living forms) are found in the Carboniferous formation.

Myriapoda is a subphylum of arthropods containing millipedes, centipedes, and others. The group contains over 13,000 species, all of which are terrestrial. Although their name suggests they have myriad (10,000) legs, myriapods range from having over 750 legs (the millipede Illacme plenipes) to having fewer than ten legs.

The fossil record of myriapods reaches back into the late Silurian, although molecular evidence suggests a diversification in the Cambrian Period, and Cambrian fossils exist which resemble myriapods. The oldest unequivocal myriapod fossil is of the millipede Pneumodesmus newmani, from the late Silurian (428 million years ago). P. newmani is also important as the earliest known terrestrial animal. The phylogenetic classification of myriapods is still debated.

The scientific study of myriapods is myriapodology, and those who study myriapods are myriapodologists.