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Millipede

Other Invertebrates

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Millipedes are a class of arthropods, scientifically known as Diplopoda, characterized by having two pairs of jointed legs on most body segments, each double-legged segment formed by the fusion of two single segments. Most millipedes have elongated, cylindrical or flattened bodies with more than 20 segments, while pill millipedes are shorter and can roll into a tight ball. Despite the name deriving from the Latin for a thousand feet, no species was known to have 1,000 or more legs until the 2020 discovery of Eumillipes persephone, which can have over 1,300. Around 12,000 named species are classified into 16 orders and roughly 140 families, making Diplopoda the largest class within Myriapoda, the arthropod subphylum that also includes centipedes.

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