[1][2][3] This genus was originally described by the French zoologist Paul Remy in 1931 to contain the newly discovered type species Decapauropus cuenoti.

[6] Although this extra adult stage is rare in warm and moist regions with favorable conditions for survival, females with ten leg pairs are generally more common where the environment is less hospitable.

Males appear to be especially scarce in regions where the environment is less favorable, and the extra adult stage for females with ten leg pairs may be an adaptation to parthenogenetic reproduction in some species.

[6] Studies of sex ratios in D. cuenoti, D. gracilis, D. productus, and D. vulgaris in Europe and North Africa find some geographic variation in the scarcity of males.

[6] A study of D. cuenoti, D. gracilis, and D. vulgaris finds that the fraction of females with ten pairs of legs varies not only among species but also among regions in Europe and North Africa.

These females are present in populations of D. gracilis from northern Europe to North Africa, representing between 3 and 10 percent of adults in that range.