Myriapoda (mĭr′ ī-ăp′ ṓ-dȧ), a class of jointed animals containing the centipedes and thousand-legged worms. The name signifies many-footed. The body is worm-like and jointed. There is a pair of legs for each joint. The head carries antennas, jaws and eyes, and there is no distinction between thorax and abdomen. The myriapods form a group equivalent, respectively, to that of the Crustacea, spiders and insects, and these four classes make the subkingdom of arthropoda. See Arthropoda and Centipede.
