The discovery brings us one step closer to understanding these elusive creatures, which may be at risk of extinction. (Credit: Reproduction/Disclosure)
Eumillipes Persephone is a creature unlike any other: he uses the pulsing rings on his body to dig deep into the ground, where he keeps cool from the blazing Australian sun. Oh, and it has many legs: specifically: 1,306.
Eumillipes persephone it is the first true millipede ever discovered. In a study published in the journal Scientific Reports, the researchers revealed that they found the creature with ostentatious limbs in a mining excavation in Western Australia. The discovery brings us one step closer to understanding these elusive creatures, which may be at risk of extinction.
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“Here we report the discovery of E. persephone , the first known super-elongated millipede in Australia and the new world record for the animal with the most legs”, declare the scientists proudly in the newspaper.
In August 2020, scientists identified a “pale, wire-like millipede” in the Goldfields region of Western Australia – an arid place known for surface mining – hidden 60 meters below the surface in a drill hole.
Turns out there were more centipedes lurking in other nearby drill holes — scientists used special traps called trogtraps baited with wet leaves to capture the long-legged creatures, collecting eight centipedes in total.
Scientists later extracted and sequenced the DNA from the samples. Finally, they looked at the millipedes under a microscope, confirming that they were, in fact, the first true millipedes.
The new species of millipede, Eumillipes persephone , is the first known millipede to have more than 1,000 legs – 1,306, to be precise. Although “millipede” translates to “a thousand feet,” no millipede with more than 750 legs has been discovered before.
The scientists’ analysis also provides intriguing clues as to how this creature survives. It’s “super elongated,” meaning it’s made up of over 180 segments that help you move underground. Scientists found 330 segments in one of the female specimens.
Slip rings on the creature’s “super elongated” body, along with its 1,306 legs, help propel the millipede forward. This move allows him to tunnel through the ground. Its legs may be shorter than other millipedes, but quantity may be more important than quality in this case.
“The increase in the number of legs probably contributes more tractive force to forcing small cracks and openings,” the researchers wrote.
Scientists have also identified an “impressive morphological similarity” between E. persephone and I. plenipes – California’s former record-setting millipede that has up to 750 legs. The findings are a curious example of convergent evolution, which occurs when two species in different locations develop a similar beneficial trait – a bunch of legs, in this case.
This discovery may not seem like a big deal to non-millipede enthusiasts, but this discovery provides unique insight into one of the oldest animal lineages on Earth. Millipedes have lived on Earth for more than 400 million years and are likely one of the “first animals to breathe atmospheric oxygen,” according to the research. They help to break down plant and fecal matter in many ecosystems.
But despite its importance, “primary knowledge of millipede diversity lags far behind other groups of animals,” the scientists write. So scientists are still trying to figure out the number and types of different centipedes, although this latest discovery brings them a little closer.
This new species is especially intriguing because scientists are unsure how to E. persephone ended up underground.
But researchers have a hunch: one theory proposes that as temperatures became very hot and dry in the ancient Earth, millipedes and other cold-adapted animals buried themselves underground, where temperatures were more stable.
“These subterranean habitats and their inhabitants are poorly studied, despite their ecological importance in filtering groundwater and screening for environmental toxins,” the scientists add.
Unfortunately, the discovery may come too late to save the world’s “first true millipede”. The area where it was discovered – the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia – remains a hotbed of surface mining explorations. Much of Australia’s gold, nickel and other minerals are mined from this region.
Underground mining involves drilling wells that disrupt habitat and threaten the survival of E. persephone . The world’s first millipede could disappear soon after its discovery if humans don’t act quickly to protect it.
As the researchers grimly conclude: “Threatened by the encroachment of surface mining, the documentation of this species and the conservation of its habitat is of critical importance.”
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