Despite the name, no known millipede has a thousand legs, until now.
The name millipede derives from two words, mille meaning a thousand and pes meaning foot. But although the name is meant to convey the sheer number of legs on a millipede, the most legs ever recorded on a species was 750.
A new finding published in Nature Scientific Reports identified a new millipede with over a thousand legs, making it a true millipede. Enter the 1306-legged Eumillipes persephone from western Australia.
The Eumillipes persephone measures .95mm wide and 95.7 mm long, has 330 segments, and feeds through a beak. Check below for an image because it’s gnarly.
As reported by Vice, the Eumillipes persephone was discovered last year when Bruno Buzatto was called to look at an unusually long millipede. Initially, it was believed to be related to a species of leggy millipedes discovered in California called Illacme plenipes, but further research in Virginia under Paul Marek revealed this new millipede was a unique species.
What’s unusual is that the Eumillipes persephone belongs to the order Polyzoniida which was previously recorded to have 400 legs at most.
No need to worry about the true thousand-plus-legged millipede from crawling into your home at night. Unlike centipedes, which can be poisonous and carnivorous, millipedes are detritivores who feed on dead leaves.
While you won’t find a millipede with a thousand legs in it if you’re feeling particularly fascinated by crawlers you can check out IGN’s review of Grounded, Obsidian’s backyard survival game with some pretty nasty insects.
Matt T.M. Kim is IGN's News Editor. You can reach him @lawoftd.
Continue reading...
The name millipede derives from two words, mille meaning a thousand and pes meaning foot. But although the name is meant to convey the sheer number of legs on a millipede, the most legs ever recorded on a species was 750.
A new finding published in Nature Scientific Reports identified a new millipede with over a thousand legs, making it a true millipede. Enter the 1306-legged Eumillipes persephone from western Australia.
The Eumillipes persephone measures .95mm wide and 95.7 mm long, has 330 segments, and feeds through a beak. Check below for an image because it’s gnarly.
As reported by Vice, the Eumillipes persephone was discovered last year when Bruno Buzatto was called to look at an unusually long millipede. Initially, it was believed to be related to a species of leggy millipedes discovered in California called Illacme plenipes, but further research in Virginia under Paul Marek revealed this new millipede was a unique species.
What’s unusual is that the Eumillipes persephone belongs to the order Polyzoniida which was previously recorded to have 400 legs at most.
No need to worry about the true thousand-plus-legged millipede from crawling into your home at night. Unlike centipedes, which can be poisonous and carnivorous, millipedes are detritivores who feed on dead leaves.
While you won’t find a millipede with a thousand legs in it if you’re feeling particularly fascinated by crawlers you can check out IGN’s review of Grounded, Obsidian’s backyard survival game with some pretty nasty insects.
Matt T.M. Kim is IGN's News Editor. You can reach him @lawoftd.
Continue reading...