The first true millipede with 1,306 legs has been discovered in Western Australia. It was found living 200 feet below the ground in a drill hole created for mineral exploration.
Until now, no millipede has been found with more than 750 legs.
Named Eumilipes Persephone, after the queen of the underworld, it has an elongated body and does not have eyes or pigmentation .It is 3.7 inches long, 0.04 inch wide and has 330 body segments, antennae, a break for feeding and a cone shaped head.
Milipedes are one of the first animals to breathe oxygen and have lived on earth for over 400 million years. They have more legs to move around better in soil habitat. The more legs they have, the more strength they have to propel forward.
The discovery team found eight Eumilipes Persephone in three drill holes at depths between 15 and 60 metres.
