Arthropleuridae
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 A model of Arthropleura at the Field Museum in Chicago.
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Arthropleurids were Paleozoic arthropods that lived mainly during the Devonian and Carboniferous periods. They included the largest land dwelling arthropods in the history of Earth. They resembled centipedes and millipedes, and were distinguished by their possession of keeled tergites, and legs with eight segments. Arthropleurids had about 30 pairs of legs, whose tracks have been found in the Joggins deposit in Nova Scotia, Canada.
[edit] Families of arthropleurida
Eoathropleuridae - These Arthropleurids lived during the Devonian period. They existed from the Emsian to Frasnian faunal epochs. Fossils of Eoarthropleurids have been found in North America and Europe, including some in the British Isles. Eoarthropleurids were often aquatic or semi-aquatic. They were considerably smaller than the later Arthropleurids. Numerous trace fossils (also called 'ichofossils') of Eoarthropleurids have been found at the Patn-y-Maes Quarry in Wales. This is a sandstone formation.
Arthropleuridae - These Arthropleurids lived during the Carboniferous period during the Serpukhovian to Gzhelian faunal stages. The Arthropleurids of this family were fully terrestrial. The genus Arthropleura grew up to 3 meters long. Fossils of Arthropleura have been found in Europe and North America. This genus survived as late as the Asselian (299 - 288.5 million years ago), which was the first faunal stage of the Permian.
Microdecemplicidae - The members of this family were very small. Microdecemplex was a genus of this family. Fossils of Microdecemplex date to the middle through upper Devonian. Fossil remains of Microdecemplex have been found in New York State.
