Myriacantherpestes
| Myriacantherpestes Temporal range:
| |
|---|---|
| M. hystricosus fossil, National Museum of Natural History | |
| Fossil of Myriacantherpestes clarkorum | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Myriapoda |
| Class: | Diplopoda |
| Order: | †Euphoberiida |
| Family: | †Euphoberiidae |
| Genus: | †Myriacantherpestes Burke, 1979 |
| Type species | |
| Eurypterus? (Arthropleura) ferox[1] Salter 1863
| |
| Species | |
|
M. bradebirksi Burke 1979 | |
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 prominent dorsal and lateral spines. Myriacantherpestes differs from other members of Euphoberiidae in part by having much longer lateral spines[2] and a more flattened body.[3] Myriacantherpestes had a row of ozopores running down the body near the base of the anterolateral spines, which likely secreted defensive chemicals as in modern millipedes.[4] The head of Myriacantherpestes bore large dorsally-facing compound eyes and toothed mandibles.[5] The largest species of Myriacantherpestes were about 12 inches (30 cm) in length.[6]
Taxonomic history
Several species currently assigned to Myriacantherpestes were formerly in the genera Acantherpestes and Euphoberia.[2] The species M. excrescens was originally described as a fossilized cycad seed.[7]
References
- ^ Woodward, Henry (1887). "On some Spined Myriapods from the Carboniferous Series of England". Geological Magazine. 4 (1): 1–10. doi:10.1017/S0016756800188363.
- ^ a b Burke, J.J. (1979). "A new millipede genus, Myriacantherpestes (Diplopoda, Archipolypoda), and Myriacantherpestes bradebirksi, new species, from the English UK Coal Measures". Kirtlandia. 30: 1–24.
- ^ Shear, William A.; Edgecombe, Gregory D. (2010). "The geological record and phylogeny of the Myriapoda". Arthropod Structure & Development. 39 (2–3): 174–190. Bibcode:2010ArtSD..39..174S. doi:10.1016/j.asd.2009.11.002. PMID 19944188.
- ^ Wilson, Heather M. (2006). "Aggregation behaviour in juvenile millipedes from the upper Carboniferous of Mazon Creek, Illinois". Palaeontology. 49 (4): 733–740.
- ^ Frankish, Tom (2023). CT Reconstruction and the Phylogeny of Fossil Myriapods (PhM thesis). University of Manchester.
- ^ Hannibal, Joseph T. (1997). "Myriapods and Arthropleurids". In Shabica, Charles W.; Hay, Andrew A. (eds.). Richardson's Guide to The Fossil Fauna of Mazon Creek. Northeastern Illinois University. pp. 172–183.
- ^ Lemay, Stephen; Hannibal, Joseph T. (2002). "Trigonocarpus excrescens Janssen, 1940, a supposed seed from the Pennsylvanian of Illinois, is a milliped (Diplopoda: Euphoberiidae)". Kirtlandia. 53: 37–40.