The record to date was 750 paws. For the first time, the centipede lived up to its name. In a study published Thursday in the journal scientific report, US researchers revealed that they found an animal with 1,306 legs.

ten centimeters long

Myriapod was found 60 meters underground, in a well in a mining area in Western Australia. It looks like a thread almost a millimeter wide, but almost ten centimeters in length. The study said it had a “cone-shaped head with huge antennae and beak for feeding.” Eyeless, and it is also colorless – characteristic features of animals that live underground.

Study author Paul Marek of Virginia Tech University in the United States told AFP that this species was named “Omelipus Persephone” after the Greek goddess of the underworld.

“It’s a wonderful beast!” ».

In his eyes, this discovery is a hope for biodiversity, as the centipede “recolonized artificial cavities, which is very encouraging.” According to him, these micro-cavities, largely unknown, constitute a fertile ground for the discovery of new species.

The study indicates that centipedes were among the first air-breathing animals on Earth, and some extinct species grew to more than two meters in length.