26-legged creature — with tufts of fluff — discovered in China. It’s a new species
Millipedes, sometimes called “1,000-legged worms,” are a prime example in the animal kingdom of false advertising.
Millipedes are not worms nor do their small bodies yield such an excessive number of legs.
This unique invertebrate — and its leg-deficient relative, the centipede — is more closely related to lobsters, crayfish and shrimp, despite spending its days foraging in the leaf litter instead of on ocean floors.
Now, a new species of millipede has been discovered in Menglai Rainforest Health Theme Park in China with an additional weird trait: It’s fluffy.
Lophoturus sineprocessus, as the new species is named, belongs to an order of millipedes commonly found foraging under bark, wet leaves and decaying wood, according to a study published Jan. 6 in the peer-reviewed journal ZooKeys.
They can also be found in caves feeding on algae and fungus, and other things growing on the wet rocks, researchers said.
The new species has 13 sets of legs, totaling 26, despite its body being just 0.7 inches long, according to the study.
Each body section also has tufts of hair-like material, researchers said.
The hairy animals also have long antennae, according to the study. The males are slightly smaller than the females, and they have one or two fewer hair tufts.
The millipede is generally white and tan in color, much lighter than other species.
Millipedes, which can grow to more than 2 inches in length, but can sometimes spray acidic liquid that can be dangerous, according to the University of Georgia Extension.
The critters also add more sections to their bodies and legs to those sections over time, according to the university.
“Young millipedes have only the first three pairs of legs and no more than seven segments,” the university says. “With each molt, they add additional segments and legs until they reach sexual maturity — usually in 2 to 5 years, depending on the species.”
The new species was found in the Yunnan province of south-central China, and brings the total number of millipedes from the Polyxenida order to 12 in the country.
The research team includes Yadong Wang, Ai Jin, Shichen Gao, Jiajia Wang and Yan Dong.
This story was originally published January 7, 2025 at 5:18 PM with the headline "26-legged creature — with tufts of fluff — discovered in China. It’s a new species."
