Posted on 06/08/2006 6:56:17 AM PDT by DaveLoneRanger
LONDON - An extremely rare species of millipede, and the one that comes closest to having 1,000 legs, has made its first appearance in 80 years.
The Illacme plenipes species had not been seen since it was first spotted in a biodiversity hotspot in California in 1926.
But Paul Marek and Professor Jason Bond of East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina recently discovered 12 of the elusive thread-like creatures that measure about 33 mm (1.3 inch) in length.
"It has the most number of legs of any animal on the planet," Marek said in an interview. "It is also an extremely rare species that has not been seen for 80 years."
The scientists found the millipedes during trips to California. Another quirky characteristic of the creatures is that they only live in a moist, wooded area measuring less than 1 sq km (0.6 sq miles) in San Benito County, California.
Marek and Bond, who were funded by the National Science Foundation, found four males, three females and five juveniles. The females had up to 666 legs, slightly fewer than the known record holder, according to the research published in the journal Nature.
The males had between 318 and 402 legs. Scientists do not know why, despite their name which means 1,000 feet, the maximum number of known appendages on a millipede is 750.
Marek said the discovery of the rare creatures highlighted the need to preserve biological diversity.
Marek said the discovery of the rare creatures highlighted the need to preserve biological diversity.
Um, excuse me, we haven't done a thing for this critter. We first found it eighty years ago, and haven't seen nor heard tell of it since Calvin Coolidge was president, but we somehow need to do something for this bug?
Because the people who named it didn't want to count the darn things.
Silly scientists!
Gee, Marge, this area is too big - we can't live here!
Bad writing alert!
It's the devilpede!
We control its future about as much as we controlled it past or the climate. /s
Animal? It's a freakin insect- a bug!!
First appearance in 80 years, and they don't include a picture with the article?
"Animal? It's a freakin insect- a bug!!"
Uh, it's not an insect, nor is it a bug. It's a millipede.
Further, insects and millipedes are, indeed, animals. Did you suppose they were plants?
Hmm, an insect? A bug?
Not a "bug".
C'mon folks.
Colloquially "bug" means little creepy crawly inverterbrate, except when it means software "feature" or viral illness as in "I've got some kind of bug".
Semi-technically it's the common name for Hemiptera.
On the other hand, NZ...they are animals.
Millipedes are most definitely not insects by any definition, though. I think it's important to be accurate.
Hmmm.. reporter has public school math education I see.
I agree with your usage of the comma in "bug" above. However, at the end of a longer quotation I put them inside. If it's just one word in quotations it just doesn't look right. . .
But I rebel against the use of insect for any creepy-crawly. I'll accept calling most small arthropods bugs, but I think when people start calling them insects they're trying to use a more "correct" word for it and often failing miserably.
Good eye! "But Ask.com says 1 km is about 0.6 miles!"
One square km is about 0.4 square miles or so
As I said, I'm a bit conflicted. Won't use it, will correct students and others in a science or nature setting, but I'm just not sure in a forum like this.
There's more than enough egregiously sloppy sub-science, pseudo-science and non-science going around. I can also see the view that letting the small stuff go by only encourages worse.
I like to stick with the original definition that I learned. An insect is an invertebrate which is divided, like Gaul, into three parts: head, thorax, and abdomen, and has six legs, all attached to the thorax. Anything outside of that has a different classification, such as spiders (arachnids).
OTOH, I call anything with a shell and multiple legs, including crabs and lobsters, "bugs". It's my way. I'm funny like that.
I have a seriously hard time with the idea of calling my pile of snow crab legs or jumbo shrimp a bug dinner!
I love soft-shelled bug, Bug tail, Snow bug, Alaskan King Bug, and good 'ol Chesapeake Bay Blue Bug!
MMMMMM. Buuuuuuggg!
It is an animal. It is not an insect, though.
You Atlantic folk don't even know about the best kind!? Dungeness Bug...
What do you think bugs are? Plants? ;~)
Gee, thanks! Not! :~(
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You guys ar bugging me. I'm outta here.
Indeed. One square kilometer would be about 0.36 square miles...
Well since this millipede was missing for 80 years, it might be suitable for cryptozoology.
Ping!
But then we would have to call them seven-hundred-fifty-pedes...
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