Illacme plenipes
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| Illacme plenipes Cook & Loomis, 1928 |
Illacme plenipes is a millipede found in Central California. Although no millipede has one thousand legs, Illacme plenipes comes the closest with one recorded specimen having 750 legs. On average they have over 600 legs, twice the average for millipede species.
The species was first discovered in San Benito County, part of the California Floristic Province, in 1926 by a government scientist <ref>Cook & Loomis (1928). Millipedes of the order Colobognatha, with descriptions of six new genera and type species, from Arizona and California. Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus. 72: 1-26, f. 1-6, pls. 1-2.</ref>. However, the species was not seen again until it was rediscovered almost eighty years later, in November 2005, by Paul Marek, a Ph.D. student at East Carolina University, as he was conducting research on millipede systematics and evolution in San Benito County <ref>The Bond Lab, News and Events, East Carolina University, Accessed June 7, 2006</ref><ref>Alicia Chang (June 7, 2006). Rare millipede species found in Calif.. Associated Press.</ref>. Marek published his discovery in the journal Nature <ref>Paul E. Marek and Jason E. Bond, "Biodiversity hotspots: Rediscovery of the world's leggiest animal", Nature, June 8, 2006</ref>.
[edit] References
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[edit] External link
- "Rare Millipede Found in California" by Alicia Chang, Associated Press, at Discovery News
