Millipedes are
arthropods in the
class Diplopoda, which is characterised by having two pairs of
jointed legs on most body segments. Each double-legged segment is a result of two single segments fused together as one. Most millipedes have very elongated cylindrical or flattened bodies with more than 20 segments, while
pill millipedes are shorter and can roll into a ball. Although the name "millipede" derives from the
Latin for "thousand feet", no known species has 1,000; the record of 750 legs belongs to
Illacme plenipes. There are approximately 12,000 named species classified into sixteen orders and around 140 families, making Diplopoda the largest class of
myriapods, an arthropod group which also includes
centipedes and other multi-legged creatures.