A Rare Creature with Up to 1,000 Legs Has Been Discovered for the First Time in 80 Years.
The creature known as Illacme plenipes had not been seen since it was first discovered in an area of California, USA, in 1926.
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| Source: Emporia |
However, Paul Marek and Professor Jason Bond from East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina, recently discovered 12 of these thread-like creatures, measuring 33 mm in length.
“It has the most legs of any creature on this planet. And it is also an incredibly rare species that has been missing for 80 years,” stated Marek.
Another peculiar feature of this creature is that it only resides in damp, wooded areas covering less than 1 square kilometer in San Benito County, California.
Marek and Bond found 4 males, 3 females, and 5 juveniles. The females have up to 666 legs, slightly fewer than the record-holding individual. The males have between 318 to 402 legs. The name of the creature means “1,000 legs,” while the maximum number of legs recorded is 750.
M.T.
