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.
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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!