Millipede species with 4 penises discovered

A new millipede species was discovered in a cave in California.

It has four penises.

It also has 414 legs. The “penises” themselves are in fact limbs – the ninth and tenth pair of legs to be exact – that evolved into structures known as gonopods. These sport a multitude of spikes and projections resembling shovels that transfer sperm to the female.

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Unfortunately, the male millipede the researchers found is currently their only specimen of the species, so we don’t know if the female has four vaginas.

Illacme tobini, as it is now called, is eyeless, and measures 20 millimeters (0.8 inches) long. It’s possible that it lives on a diet of fungus.

The Illacme tobini boasts 200 pores, each of which is capable of secreting an unknown substance. The scientists theorize these could be chemicals the millipede uses to defend itself against predators. They are also uncertain if the creature resides only in caves, or if it also hides under rocks like millipedes usually do.


A rare animal

Virginia Tech’s millipede taxonomist Dr. Paul Marek, along with colleagues hailing from the University of Texas and Hampden-Sydney College, identified the species as well as came up with the name Illacme tobini. The animal was named after Ben Tobin, a Grand Canyon National Park cave specialist who organized the cave surveys that led to its discovery.

The animal is in the genus of millipedes called Illacme. It is closely related to the Illacme plenipes, which, with 750 legs, is said to be the world’s leggiest creature. The Illacme plenipes was discovered almost a century ago in 1928.

Together, the Illacme tobini and Illacme plenipes are the only two species of Illacme ever found. Both species belong to the larger Siphonorhinidae family – a furtive group composed of 12 species only. The vast majority of the family hail from India, Indonesia, Madagascar, South Africa, and Vietnam. Only Illacme come from North America.

“The genus Illacme is the sole representative of the family Siphonorhinidae in the Western Hemisphere,” explained Dr. Marek and his co-authors. “Members of this family are thread-like eyeless millipedes that possess an astounding number of legs.”


A chance encounter

The researchers found the organism in the Lange Cave marble cavern in Sequoia National Park, California – not far from San Benito County, where they found Illacme plenipes.

“I never would have expected that a second species of the leggiest animal on the planet would be discovered in a cave 150 miles away,” stated Dr. Marek. “Its closest relative lives under giant sandstone boulders outside of San Juan Bautista, California.”

The team describes the Illacme tobini in the online journal ZooKeys. — TJD, GMA News