Creepy-crawly: True millipede with over 1,000 legs found in Australia
The millipede, boasting a grand total of 1,306 legs, has more legs than any other animal on Earth.
The first true millipede—1,306 legs long. (photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)
A true millipede has finally been discovered, a new study has
revealed, with an arthropod discovered boasting a grand total of 1,306
legs - more than any other animal on Earth and giving new meaning to the
phrase "creepy-crawly."
The millipede belongs to a new species dubbed Eumillipes persephone,
the first half literally meaning true millipede and the second word
referring to Persephone, the Greek goddess of the underworld, as
revealed in a new article published in the peer-reviewed academic
journal Scientific Reports.
Though
called millipedes, a name that literally means "a thousand feet," until
now, no millipede with more than 750 legs had ever been discovered.
Until now, the record holder for the most amount of legs was Illacme plenipes, a Californian millipede species.
The discovery of Eumillipes persephone changes that.
The species, found in a mining area drill hole 60 meters underground in Australia's Eastern Goldfields Province, are eyeless with short legs and have long-threadlike bodies with around 330 segments.
Millipede (illustrative). (credit: PIXABAY)
These
millipedes were also found to be around 0.95 millimeters wide and 95.7
millimeters long with a beak and antennae topping their cone-shaped
heads.
Most
millipedes have little to no impact on human life. However, the inverse
is not true, with human actions altering habitats affecting millipedes,
like so many other animals.
The
scientists behind the study, as a result, have worried about the mining
in the area, and advise that its underground habitat should be
conserved.
Leggiest millipede on Earth’ discovered in Australia, Reuters , Dec 18, 2021
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| Neander-Troll says " 1, 306 legs that's 653 pairs of Nike shoes his parents have to buy him" PS. If this page gives you the creeps - blame Arye ben-Shaoul, it was his suggestion! |
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