Found most legged animal on Earth

study conducted by US researchers found that one of the newly discovered species of millipedes is an absolute record for the number of legs. Arthropod that lives only in a small area of ​​northern California, has 742 konechnostyami.

First centipede Illacme plenipes (letters. "Apotheosis legged") discovered in 1926, but confirmed the existence of this rare animal only in 2005. Employees of the University of Arizona, who studied the find, revealed in it a kind of champion. This was only possible in the study of filamentous being 1-3 cm in length by scanning electron mikroskopom.

"We [centipede] completely uninteresting appearance, but when we put it under the microscope, revealed an extensive and amazingly complex anatomy", - explained researcher Paul Marek.

He added that the study was complicated by its rarity centipede - it is found only in a small area of ​​about 4, 5 km2 far from Oakland and Berkeley. Therefore, it was difficult to find, but finding - pick up, as scientists tried to preserve the species, each individual who has a huge znachenie.

Another feature found diplopods was that the next of kin Illacme plenipes live in South Africa, on the basis of what its origin is related to the age of supercontinent Pangea, includes, including, North America and Africa, and was divided into separate continents about 200 million years ago.

Source: www.ridus.ru/news/53467/