''Kampecaris'' is an extinct genus comprising the Kampecarida, an enigmatic group of millipede-like arthropods, from the

Silurian The Silurian ( ) is a geologic period and system spanning 24.6 million years from the end of the Ordovician Period, at million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Devonian Period, Mya. The Silurian is the shortest period of the Paleozo ...

and early

Devonian The Devonian ( ) is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic era, spanning 60.3 million years from the end of the Silurian, million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Carboniferous, Mya. It is named after Devon, England, whe ...

periods of Scotland and England. They are among the oldest known land-dwelling animals. They were small ( long), short-bodied animals with three recognizable

sections Section, Sectioning or Sectioned may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Section (music), a complete, but not independent, musical idea * Section (typography), a subdivision, especially of a chapter, in books and documents ** Section sig ...

: an oval head divided along the midline, ten limb-bearing segments forming a cylindrical trunk that tapered slightly towards the front, and a characteristic swollen tail formed by a modified segment that tapers at its rear into an "anal segment". The

cuticle A cuticle (), or cuticula, is any of a variety of tough but flexible, non-mineral outer coverings of an organism, or parts of an organism, that provide protection. Various types of "cuticle" are non- homologous, differing in their origin, structu ...

forming their exoskeletons was thick, heavily calcified, and composed of two layers. The genus was named by David Page in 1856 for a "small phyllopod, or the larval stage of some larger crustacean" from Silurian deposits of

Angus, Scotland Angus ( sco, Angus; gd, Aonghas) is one of the 32 local government council areas of Scotland, a registration county and a lieutenancy area. The council area borders Aberdeenshire, Dundee City and Perth and Kinross. Main industries include agr ...

(formerly Forfarshire), but it was not until 1882 that B. N. Peach recognized the affinities of this animal to millipedes and named the species ''K. forfarensis''. Peach named another Silurian species, ''K. obanensis'', from Old Red Sandstone deposits from the Scottish island of

Kerrera Kerrera (; gd, Cearara or ''Cearrara'') is an island in the Scottish Inner Hebrides, close to the town of Oban. In 2016 it had a population of 45, divided into two communities in the north and south of the island. Geology The oldest bedrock ...

in 1899; John Almond questioned the affinity of this species to ''Kampecaris'' in 1985, for several reasons including the presence of 14 segments behind the head. In 1951, B. B. Clarke described a Devonian species, ''K. dinmorensis'', from Dinmore Hill,

Herefordshire Herefordshire () is a county in the West Midlands of England, governed by Herefordshire Council. It is bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh counties of Monmouthshire ...

, England. Another Devonian species, ''K. tuberculata'', was subsequently recognized as being closer to flat-backed millipedes in the group

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 ...

, and renamed to '' Palaeodesmus''. The taxonomic placement of Kampecarida is unresolved, and it has never been subject to phylogenetic analysis. At least some of the body segments may have been

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 ...

s, and a legless collum may have been behind the head, which are millipede-like traits but not exclusive to millipedes. Almond treated it an

order Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of d ...

of uncertain placement in an unpublished 1986 thesis, and in 1998 W. A. Shear considered it likely warranted

class Class or The Class may refer to: Common uses not otherwise categorized * Class (biology), a taxonomic rank * Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects * Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used differentl ...

-level rank within the Myriapoda. In a 2010 review of the myriapod fossil record, Shear and G. D. Edgecombe considered it likely represented an extinct high-level taxon within the Diplopoda (millipedes).

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q96889494 Silurian myriapods Fossils of Great Britain Fossil taxa described in 1856 Enigmatic arthropod taxa