The First Real Millipede

The First Real Millipede

What are Millipedes?

Both millipedes and centipedes are arthropods within the subphylum Myriapoda, meaning many legs. Since they appear so similar, people often struggle to tell the difference between these two creepy crawlies however, the easiest way you can actually tell them apart is their legs. Per body segment, centipedes only have a single leg on each side while millipedes have two legs per body segment.  

Misnomers

Counter to what their name may suggest, centipedes do not actually have 100 legs. While the range of legs on centipedes can vary drastically based on the suborder of the species, no centipede actually has exactly 100 legs. The average ranges from 30 to 50 legs, while the highest recorded for house centipedes is 354 legs (177 pairs). Similarly, millipedes typically begin life with only eight legs. As they shed and grow these numbers quickly multiply but the average number of legs for adult millipedes’ range between 40-400… even though their name suggests a thousand legs.  

An Australian Discovery

“A new species is always exciting,” said ecologist Bruce Snyder of Georgia College and State University. “But, in terms of the millipede community, we’re constantly finding new species.” This is exactly what occurred in 2020 when Paul Marek, a millipede expert at Virginia Polytech Institute and State University, set out to Australia in search of specimens to study. In the Goldfield region of Western Australia, Marek, his team of colleagues, and Bruno Buzatto of Australia’s Macquarie University ventured out to set traps made of PVC pipe, nylon cords, and wet vegetation. After some time they happened upon something none of them had ever seen before. From 200 feet beneath the Earth’s surface emerged a female millipede with a record breaking 1,306 legs, making it the creature with the most legs ever discovered on the planet both alive and dead. The last record holder, the Illacme plenipes, was a millipede native to California that was found with a staggering 750 legs. This new species, however, blew the previous record out of the water. But, that’s not the only impressive part of the discovery. With all other millipedes having 750 legs or less, this is the only millipede known to be in existence with actually over 1,000 legs, truly embodying the name ‘millipede.’ The scientists behind this record breaking discovery decided to name the new species Eumillipes Persephone after the queen of the underworld from Greek mythology.  

Why All the Legs?

In short… even the scientists aren’t exactly sure. However, the leading theory suggests that it allows the arthropod to “walk on eight different planes simultaneously.” “Since is a subterranean microhabitat with rocks, pebbles, and soil, they’re basically winding their way around these obstacles,” Marek explains. “Part of your body can be upside down. The other part could be pointing downward, the other part could be pointing upwards. And it’s all based on winding around this three-dimensional kind of matrix.”  

In Reflection of the Discovery

This new finding in the entomological world is proof that there is a lot more to be discovered within our own world. In particular, both subterranean and oceanic life have barely been explored due to the vast nature of both terrains. “I often get the question, ‘how deep do they go?’” Snyder said. “This is way deep than I thought we would be finding much of anything.” Marek adds, “It goes to show that despite more than 200 years of exploration, there are still these unexplored ecosystems.”

Citations

Bittel, J. (2021) First true millipede discovered-new species has 1,306 legs, National Geographic – Animals. National Geographic. Available at: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/first-true-millipede-discovered-with-thousand-legs (Accessed: January 7, 2022). Gordon, E. (no date) A Teacher’s Resource Guide to Millipedes & Centipedes, Cornell University. Available at: https://cpb-us-e1.wpmucdn.com/blogs.cornell.edu/dist/7/3643/files/2013/09/Millipedes-CentipedesGuide-2jubwdz.pdf (Accessed: August 2020). How are millipedes and centipedes alike and how do they differ? (no date) The Library of Congress. Available at: https://www.loc.gov/everyday-mysteries/zoology/item/how-are-millipedes-and-centipedes-alike-and-how-do-they-differ/ (Accessed: January 7, 2022). Klass, C. and Raffensperger, E. M. (2012) Millipedes, Sowbugs and Pillbugs, and Centipedes, Insect Diagnostic Laboratory. Cornell University Department of Entomology. Available at: http://idl.entomology.cornell.edu/wp-content/uploads/Millipedes-Sowbugs-Pillbugs-Centipedes.pdf (Accessed: August 2020).