The world's leggiest millipede reappears
United Press International
GREENVILLE, N.C., June 8 (UPI) -- The world's leggiest millipede -- and the one that comes closest to actually living up to its name -- has reappeared decades after it was discovered.
Illacme plenipes, which has up to 750 legs, has been spotted in San Benito County, California -- the first time it has been seen since 1926.
Although there are some 10,000 millipede species, none actually possesses the mythical 1,000 legs. I. plenipes comes close, however.
The 12 new specimens unveiled by Paul Marek and Jason Bond of East Carolina University in Greenville, N.C., have a wide range of leg tallies. The three adult females each have more than 660 legs, compared with between 318 and 402 for the four adult males, and fewer still for the five juveniles.
Females of the species can reach more than 30 millimeters (about an inch) in length, and yet the millipedes are only half a millimeter wide.
The report appears in this week's issue of the journal Nature.
