‘Leggiest’ Millipede Seen Again

The world’s “leggiest” animal, about an inch long, has been sighted in a remote part of California decades after it was first discovered.

The recent rediscovery of the rare millipede species, with more than 600 legs, excited scientists. They want to preserve the tiny patch of land around where it was spotted.

“This is a milestone find,” said Richard Hoffman, a millipede expert at the Virginia Museum of Natural History who had no connection with the discovery.

Despite the name millipede, which means “thousand-legged,” most types of millipedes have on average 300 legs. Of the estimated 10,000 species, only one -- Illacme plenipes -- comes close to living up to its name and thrives only in California.

That rare species was first spied in 1926 in San Benito County, about 120 miles southeast of San Francisco, by a government scientist who counted a record 750 legs. For decades, scientists flocked to the area in search of the creature, but were unsuccessful.

It remained elusive until Paul Marek of East Carolina University and his brother spotted it in the fall.

“I practically fell over when I found it. It was extremely exhilarating,” said Marek, whose discovery is reported in this week’s issue of the journal Nature.

Armed with Google satellite maps, Marek set out for the missing millipede and found it in a lush valley of oak trees in San Benito County. Marek declined to specify the location for fear of people disrupting the ecosystem.

Over three days, Marek and his brother collected a dozen millipedes and painstakingly counted their legs under a microscope to confirm that they were part of the same species. Of those captured, the ones with the most legs were females, which had 662 to 666.