''Archidesmus'' is an extinct millipede genus from the

Lower Devonian The Early Devonian is the first of three epochs comprising the Devonian period, corresponding to the Lower Devonian series. It lasted from and began with the Lochkovian Stage , which was followed by the Pragian from and then by the Emsian, w ...

Old Red Sandstone of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. It is the only member of the taxonomic

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Archidesmidae. Individuals were up to 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 In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen ...

''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. Archidesmus macnicoli 01

References

†Archidesmus Devonian myriapods Fossils of Great Britain Fossil taxa described in 1882 Extinct animals of Europe Prehistoric myriapod genera {{Paleo-myriapod-stub