This Subterranean Creature Has 1,306 Legs. Yes, That's A Record
NDTV
Previously no known millipede actually had 1,000 legs despite the name millipede meaning 'thousand feet,' experts said.
Deep underground in an exploratory drill hole in a mining region of Australia, scientists have discovered a "marvel of evolution," a remarkably elongated blind millipede possessing the most legs - 1,306, to be precise - of any known animal.
The threadlike pale-colored millipede reaches about 3-1/2 inches (95 mm) long and about four-hundredths of an inch (0.95 mm) wide, with a conical head, beak-shaped mouth and large antennae - likely one of its only sources of sensory input because it lacks eyes, scientists said on Thursday.
"Previously no known millipede actually had 1,000 legs despite the name millipede meaning 'thousand feet,'" said Virginia Tech entomologist Paul Marek, lead author of the research published in the journal Scientific Reports.
The creature is called Eumillipes persephone. The handful of individuals discovered lived up to almost 200 feet (60 meters) underground. Females had more legs than males.
