''Eoarthropleura'' was a genus of

millipede Millipedes (originating from the Latin , "thousand", and , "foot") 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 derive ...

-like creatures which lived between the Late Silurian and

Late Devonian The Devonian ( ) is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic era during the Phanerozoic eon, spanning 60.3 million years from the end of the preceding Silurian period at million years ago ( Ma), to the beginning of the succeeding ...

periods. It reached in length. Fossils, mainly of

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 ...

fragments, have been found in Europe (

Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; ; ; ) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the sixteen states. Mainz is the capital and largest city. Other cities are ...

, Germany and

Shropshire Shropshire (; abbreviated SalopAlso used officially as the name of the county from 1974–1980. The demonym for inhabitants of the county "Salopian" derives from this name.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West M ...

, England) and North America (

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, USA and

New Brunswick New Brunswick is a Provinces and Territories of Canada, province of Canada, bordering Quebec to the north, Nova Scotia to the east, the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the northeast, the Bay of Fundy to the southeast, and the U.S. state of Maine to ...

, Canada). It is the earliest known member of the

Arthropleuridea Arthropleuridea, from Ancient Greek ἄρθρον (''árthron''), meaning "joint", and πλευρά (''pleurá''), meaning "rib", is an extinct subclass of myriapod arthropods that flourished during the Carboniferous period, having first arisen d ...

, and the oldest known terrestrial animal of North America.

References

Silurian myriapods Devonian myriapods Late Devonian animals Pridoli first appearances Frasnian extinctions Paleozoic arthropods of North America Paleozoic arthropods of Europe Prehistoric myriapod genera Fossil taxa described in 1976 Millipedes {{paleo-myriapod-stub