Millipedes are arthropods in the class Diplopoda, which is characterized 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 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`, though no known species has 1,000, the closest record being 750 legs, belonging 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.

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