02083nas a2200217 4500008004100000022001400041245004600055210004200101260001500143300000800158490000700166520148200173100002001655700002301675700002301698700002301721700002201744700002101766700002301787856005501810 2021 eng d a2045-232200aThe first true millipede—1306 legs long0 afirst true millipede—1306 legs long c16/12/2021 a1-80 v113 a

The name “millipede” translates to a thousand feet (from mille “thousand” and pes “foot”). However, no millipede has ever been described with more than 750 legs. We discovered a new record-setting species of millipede with 1,306 legs, Eumillipes persephone, from Western Australia. This diminutive animal (0.95 mm wide, 95.7 mm long) has 330 segments, a cone-shaped head with enormous antennae, and a beak for feeding. A distant relative of the previous record holder, Illacme plenipes from California, it belongs to a different order, the Polyzoniida. Discovered 60 m below ground in a drill hole created for mineral exploration, E. persephone possesses troglomorphic features; it lacks eyes and pigmentation, and it has a greatly elongated body—features that stand in stark contrast to its closest surface-dwelling relatives in Australia and all other members of its order. Using phylogenomics, we found that super-elongation (> 180 segments) evolved repeatedly in the millipede class Diplopoda. The striking morphological similarity between E. persephone and I. plenipes is a result of convergent evolution, probably for locomotion in similar soil habitats. Discovered in the resource-rich Goldfields-Esperance region and threatened by encroaching surface mining, documentation of this species and conservation of its habitat are of critical importance.

1 aMarek, Paul, E.1 aBuzatto, Bruno, A.1 aShear, William, A.1 aMeans, Jackson, C.1 aBlack, Dennis, G.1 aHarvey, Mark, S.1 aRodriguez, Juanita uhttps://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-02447-0