Largest pauropod

The world's largest species of pauropod is Samarangopus amplissimus, which measures up to 2.04 mm long. Native to Indonesia, and formally described and named as a new species as recently as 2009, it is a highly sclerotised species (i.e., possessing very thick external body plating), and prefers inhabiting leaf litter to soil, unlike a number of other pauropods. Belonging to their own taxonomic class of arthropods, pauropods are small, pale and superficially resemble centipedes, but are believed to be more closely related to millipedes. Pauropods occur worldwide, and approximately 830 species are currently known to science, but on account of their tiny size and cryptic lifestyle there may well be even more still awaiting discovery.

They possess 9–11 pairs of legs (depending upon species) when adult, but lack eyes and a heart.