Biologists have discovered an animal with more than 1,000 legs
Miscellaneous / / December 17, 2021
Despite the fact that centipede or myriapoda literally means “milipede” in Latin, most of these invertebrates have only dozens and sometimes hundreds of limbs. However, recently biologists found a new species that fully corresponds to the name of the superclass - some of its individuals have up to 1,306 feet. This is stated in a new article.The first true millipede — 1306 legs long scientific journal Scientific Reports.
To reflect this event, the species was officially named Eumillipes persephone, or E. persephone. The first part in Latin means "true thousand feet", and the second gives a reference to the Greek goddess of the underworld Persephone, since it was underground that this creature was found.
The centipede was found in drilled holes at depths of up to 60 meters in the mining area of Goldfields-Esperance County, Western Australia. A team of scientists examined four individuals and found that their bodies have up to 330 segments, measuring up to 95.7 mm in length and just under 1 mm in width. Moreover, E. persephone can lengthen its body by increasing the number of segments.
The heads of individuals are cone-shaped, without eyes, but there is a beak and a pair of large antennae-antennas, on which the animal relies for orientation in the dark. The creature also has glands with a toxic alkaloid that allows it to defend itself against predatory ants, insects and burrowing mammals.
According to the researchers, all the features of the species were the result of evolutionary adaptation to life underground. This discovery shows how little we really know about underground ecosystems that mining can threaten, biologists added.
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