An ordinary millipede has, as you probably know, about 300 legs. This is a trial to those of us who prefer that prefixes mean what they say.
Right? I mean, I’m sure that the disconnect between “milli” and the number of legs a millipede actually possesses must have been keeping you up nights since you were a tot, correct?
Well, fortunately, we have now located a species of millipede that actually does have a thousand legs — at least.
This is an amazingly teensy millipede, Eumillipes persephone, which looks a lot like it has cilia or something until you whip out a magnifying glass. It’s only three and a half inches long! That’s shorter than an ordinary garden millipede! I mean the ones we get in Missouri, which are Narceus, and about four inches long. But a whole lot wider. A Narceus millipede looks like a tanker truck next to an Eumillipes, which more closely resembles a strand of sphagetti.
The name is excellent. Good for whoever named this new little critter Eumillipes.
My ancient Greek leaves everything to be desired, but triakosoiopede just doesnt roll off the tongue. The pattern on that fellow looks a bit like a high-end USB cable.
What a wonderful creature and fantastic name!