Pauropoda is a class of small, pale, millipede-like arthropods in the subphylumMyriapoda. More than 900 species in twelve families[2][3][4] are found worldwide, living in soil and leaf mold. Pauropods look like centipedes or millipedes and may be a sister group of the latter,[5] but a close relationship with Symphyla has also been posited.[6][2] The name Pauropoda derives from the Greek pauros (meaning small or few) and pous or podus (meaning foot), because most species in this class have only nine pairs of legs as adults, a smaller number than those found among adults in any other class of myriapods.[7][8][9]