''Kampecaris'' is an extinct genus comprising the Kampecarida, an enigmatic group 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 arthropods, from the

Silurian The Silurian ( ) is a geologic period and system spanning 23.5 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 third and shortest period of t ...

and early

Devonian The Devonian ( ) is a period (geology), geologic period and system (stratigraphy), system of the Paleozoic era (geology), era during the Phanerozoic eon (geology), eon, spanning 60.3 million years from the end of the preceding Silurian per ...

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: 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 (; ) is one of the 32 Local government in Scotland, local government council areas of Scotland, and a Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area. The council area borders Aberdeenshire, Dundee City (council area), Dundee City and Per ...

(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 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 Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England, bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh ...

, England. Another Devonian species, ''K. tuberculata'', was subsequently recognized as being closer to flat-backed millipedes in the group Archipolypoda, 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 diplosegments, 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 of uncertain placement in an unpublished 1986 thesis, and in 1998 W. A. Shear considered it likely warranted

class Class, Classes, 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 d ...

-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 (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 ...

(millipedes).

References

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