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 ...
of
archipolypoda
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 sever ...
n
millipede
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 resu ...
s known from the Upper Pennsylvanian of Europe and North America. The family includes relatively large millipedes measuring up to long bearing distinctive spines and were the dominant millipedes of the Pennsylvanian.Shear, William A. (1997 The fossil record and evolution of the Myriapoda In: Fortey, R. A., Thomas, R. H. (Eds.), ''Arthropod Relationships''. Systematics Association Special Volume 55. Chapman & Hall, London, pp. 211–219
Description
Euphoberiids are characterized by sets of outward-pointing spines on each
diplosegment
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 resu ...
(body ring), one pair extending laterally (to the sides), the other pair higher on the body. At the base of each lateral spine is an
ozopore
An ozopore is the opening of a defensive gland present in some arthropods, notably in millipedes of the order PolydesmidaAcantherpestes'' and ''
Euphoberia
''Euphoberia'' is an extinct genus of millipede from the Pennsylvanian epoch of the Late Carboniferous, measuring up to in length, that is small in Euphoberiidae, with length of largest species about . Fossils have been found in Europe and N ...
'' have cylindrical bodies, while those of ''
Myriacantherpestes
''Myriacantherpestes'' is an extinct genus of spiny millipedes from the Pennsylvanian subperiod of the Carboniferous period, known from fossils in Europe and North America.
Description
Like other Euphoberiids, ''Myriacantherpestes'' had pro ...