What ’s the difference between a millipede and a centipede ? millipede are packing two pairs of legs under every segment while centipedes have just one , seduce them theleggy blondeof Myriapoda . This is reflected in the name millipede , which is Latin for thousand ( mille ) and feet ( ped ) earning them the byname " thousand leggers . " This was a misnomer for a longsighted clip , as the most legs ever found on a millipede was 750 , but now that ’s all changed .
MeetEumillipes Kore , a millipede found scrabbling around 60 meters ( 197 feet ) underground in a mineral geographic expedition drill hole in the Eastern Goldfields Province of Australia . In true Australian fashion , E. persephonewent bighearted in its consistence program and now takes the number one spot for the largest number of leg on a single animal , with 1,306 legs . Its discovery has been print in the journalScientific Reports .
The record - breaking millipede ’s specie name , Eumillipes persephone , is gain from the Greek Word of God for on-key ( eu ) and the Latin for thousand foot ( mille , pes ) . It ’s a address to this many - hoof it critter being the only “ unfeigned milliped ” as it ’s actually packing over a thousand leg , unlike all those less - than-750 - legs phonies .
Persephone was pick out in honor of the Hellenic goddess of the underworld who was also partial to subterranean life .
WhatE. persephonemakes up for in ( avowedly little ) legs and foresightful , noodly consistence ( 330 section ! ) , it seems it lacks elsewhere , being wholly sightless and having no pigmentation . It ’s not the first millepede discovered without peeper as many species are troglomorphic , meaning they live their entire lives in darkness either underground or incaves . Most likely they were chuck somewhere along their evolutionary paths as eye became irrelevant in the pitch black .
An exciting find for fan of the Myriapoda , then , and one which the researchers on the subject area hope suggest there ’s much more to be found in the mining country , highlighting the region as an prodigious repository of biodiversity .
“ Whether troglomorphic species ofEumillipesexist in other parts of Western Australia is an uncertain , but potentially rich boulevard of breakthrough , ” concluded the study authors .
In light of the Eastern Goldfields Province of Western Australia being a potential treasure trove of many - legged specimen , the investigator are push for better protection for wildlife in the area to maintain biodiversity . While the mineral - rich ground is a ok blot for mining , it ’s clearly a writhe underground home ground of pedantic sake , too .
