It lives at a depth of 60 metres. Scientists discover the first worm with 1,306 legs
Miners have found a millipede (more than 1,000 feet long) with the largest number of legs of any known animal, in a mining region of Western Australia.
This was confirmed by the British newspaper The Guardian, yesterday, Thursday, noting that the “unique” worm has 1,306 legs, and was found at a depth of up to 60 meters underground in the state of Western Australia in an area where miners are prospecting for gold and other minerals, including lithium. And vanadium.
The researchers named the new species Eumillipes persephone - which means the true Persephone with a thousand legs.
This discovery breaks the previous record held by Illacme plenipes, which is found in central California and has up to 750 legs.
The pale, thread-like worm is a thousand-legged worm. Its length reaches 95 millimeters and its width is about 0.95 millimeters. It has a conical head, a beak-shaped mouth, and large antennae. Scientists believe that it may be one of the sources of sensory input, because it has no eyes. .
This species also has a long, thread-like body, consisting of 330 sections, and short legs. Females had more legs than males.
A team of researchers had recently discovered the millipede while conducting an underground environmental impact assessment.
For his part, Dr. Bruno Pozzato, a biologist at Bennelongia Environmental Consultants, described the discovery as a “huge success,” adding: “In my opinion, it is an amazing animal... a marvel of creation.”
Bozzato added: “These animals are unique. Once I realized how long it was... I realized that it was necessarily something completely different,” he said, stressing that it was “the longest worm found so far among the millipedes, which are the first animals to inhabit the Earth.” This species in particular was able to adapt to living tens of meters deep in the soil... in an arid and harsh environment.”
In turn, Dr. Juanita Rodriguez, an associate researcher and insect expert at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization, said that the new species likely developed its length to facilitate underground movement.
While she continued: “The longer its body, the greater its strength in moving forward,” noting that more than 300 segments of the millipede’s body will give it greater strength to move in rocky areas such as small crevices.
Also, entomologist at Virginia Tech Paul Marek, the lead researcher in the study published in the journal Scientific Reports, pointed out that “previously, it was not known that there was a millipede that had a thousand legs, even though the name millipede literally means “one with a thousand legs.” “.
It is noteworthy that the millipede usually has between one hundred and two hundred legs.
Millipedes first appeared more than 400 million years ago and are slow-moving arthropods related to insects and crustaceans.
While 13,000 species are currently known, they live in all types of environments and feed on decomposing plants and fungi. They play an important role in the ecosystem by breaking down the material they feed on and liberating its component parts, such as carbon, nitrogen, and simple sugars.
It is worth noting that millipedes differ from centipedes in that they have two pairs of legs on most parts of the body, while centipedes have only one pair.
Source: websites