''Palaeosoma'' is an extinct genus of archipolypodan

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 ...

s from the

upper Carboniferous Upper may refer to: * Shoe upper or ''vamp'', the part of a shoe on the top of the foot * Stimulant, drugs which induce temporary improvements in either mental or physical function or both * ''Upper'', the original film title for the 2013 found f ...

of England and Poland. Individuals grew to nearly long and possessed defensive glands ( ozopores) located on small raised nodes on the outer edges of the upper surface of each body segment. Species of ''Palaeosoma'' were once considered members of the family Euphoberiidae, which contains species with prominent spines, but are now classified in their own family (Paleosomatidae) and own order (Palaeosomatida), as they lack spines and have a combination of features not seen in other

Paleozoic The Paleozoic ( , , ; or Palaeozoic) Era is the first of three Era (geology), geological eras of the Phanerozoic Eon. Beginning 538.8 million years ago (Ma), it succeeds the Neoproterozoic (the last era of the Proterozoic Eon) and ends 251.9 Ma a ...

millipedes.Hannibal, J. (2005
A new occurrence of the millipede ''Palaeosoma'' (Archipolypoda) in the Carboniferous of Silesia, Poland, and its implications for the distribution of millipede genera in the tropics of Euroamerica during the Pennsylvanian
Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs.

References

†Palaeosoma Prehistoric myriapod genera Carboniferous myriapods Fossil taxa described in 1919 Fossils of Poland Fossils of Great Britain {{Paleo-myriapod-stub