Pneumodesmus facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Pneumodesmus |
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| Reconstruction of Pneumodesmus newmani | |
| Scientific classification | |
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†Archipolypoda
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Pneumodesmus
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P. newmani
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| Pneumodesmus newmani Wilson & Anderson, 2004
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Pneumodesmus newmani is a very old type of millipede. It lived during the Paleozoic era, which was a long, long time ago! Scientists think it lived about 428 million years ago. This makes it one of the oldest known creatures to have ever lived on land.
This amazing fossil is also the first myriapod fossil ever found. A myriapod is a group of creatures that includes millipedes and centipedes. Only one fossil of Pneumodesmus newmani has been found. It was discovered in 2004 in Scotland, near a town called Stonehaven.
Discovering Pneumodesmus newmani
The fossil of P. newmani was found by a man named Mike Newman. He was a bus driver who also loved looking for fossils. He found this special fossil in some sandstone rocks. These rocks were on the beach near Cowie, close to Stonehaven.
Scientists later named the species "newmani" to honor Mike Newman, who found it. The original fossil is now kept safe. You can see it at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh.
What Pneumodesmus newmani Looked Like
If you look at the picture of the fossil, you can see its back. It was covered with hard plates, almost like armor. It also had many thin, wispy legs. This animal was clearly segmented, meaning its body was divided into many parts. It looked very much like, or was related to, modern millipedes.
Scientists noticed something very special about its body. Its hard outer shell, called a cuticle, had tiny openings. These openings are called spiracles. They are part of a system that helps animals breathe air. This system is called a tracheal system. Because of these spiracles, scientists believe Pneumodesmus newmani is the earliest known arthropod that could breathe oxygen from the air. This makes it the first known animal to live and breathe on land!
Images for kids
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Photomicrograph of the type specimen
