I***i
发帖数: 14557 | 1 World's Leggiest Animal Found Near Silicon Valley （19楼有视频及更多照片）
"Extinct," 750-limbed millipede species sports claws, spins own "clothing."
Kate Andries
National Geographic News
Published November 14, 2012
The leggiest creature on Earth lives in California. But it's not a movie
star or a model. In fact, it's smaller than a human pinky finger. It's a 3-
centimeter-long (1.2-inch) millipede with 750 legs.
First seen by government scientists in 1928, Illacme plenipes—"the acme of
plentiful legs"—keeps such a low profile that for the rest of the 20th
century the species was thought to be extinct. Then University of Arizona
entomologist Paul Marek spied one near Silicon Valley.
Marek and colleagues' new paper—published Wednesday by the journal ZooKeys
—offers the first scientific description of Illacme plenipes, including
insights into its strange anatomy.
For one thing, females have up to 750 legs, and males have more than 550.
Most other millipede species have between 80 and 100 legs apiece, Marek said
. For another thing, Illacme plenipes can spin silk from long hairs that
cover its back, thereby creating its own "clothing."
"It's the coolest millipede I've ever heard about," Marek added.
Mythical Millipede
Illacme plenipes has "kind of had a mythical status among millipede people,"
Marek said.
So in 2005, an intrigued Marek—then a doctoral student—began searching for
the legendary invertebrate in a foggy 2.8-square-mile (7.3-square-kilometer
) area outside San Francisco.
Over three years Marek and his team turned up 17 specimens, each clinging to
sandstone boulders. Though they suspected more millipedes might be found,
the team stopped collecting specimens in 2007, so as not to potentially
deplete the species in the wild.
More Than Just a Great Set of Legs
Because these burrowing arthropods live deep underground, their legs have
adapted to include claws. Marek and other researchers hypothesize that these
talons may help Illacme plenipes cling to subterranean rocks.
Other surprising anatomical features include massive antennae (relative to
the scale of its body), which the millipede uses to feel its way through the
dark; a jagged and translucent exoskeleton; and body hairs that produce a
sort of silk that may help Illacme plenipes adhere to the undersides of
boulders. And unlike in other millipedes, the mouth of this species is
specifically structured for piercing and sucking plant tissues.
But Marek said Illacme plenipes does have at least one thing in common with
other millipedes: a name that's "sort of a misnomer." No millipede has ever
been known to have a thousand legs, he said (though he concedes that a
species with that leg count may exist).
Now that Illacme plenipes has been rediscovered, how much longer does it
have left?
Constant development in the area is destroying its habitat, Marek said. It
would be a shame, he added, for this "bizarre" species to vanish again
before we can learn more about it. |
I***i
发帖数: 14557 | |
e****o
发帖数: 3844 | |
f*******e
发帖数: 8974 | |
a***a
发帖数: 12425 | |
i*****s
发帖数: 15215 | |
i*****s
发帖数: 15215 | 7 那个green rump parrotlet给自己的小鸟起名的报道，很强。
【在 I***i 的大作中提到】
: 文章的link，在里面还能点击看别的有趣文章
: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/11/121114-leggiest
|
i*****s
发帖数: 15215 | 8 读完心中有一丝喜悦。。
【在 a***a 的大作中提到】
: 情绪不稳定了
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a***a
发帖数: 12425 | 9 为何？
【在 i*****s 的大作中提到】
: 读完心中有一丝喜悦。。
|
a***a
发帖数: 12425 | 10 报道在哪里
【在 i*****s 的大作中提到】
: 那个green rump parrotlet给自己的小鸟起名的报道，很强。
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i*****s
发帖数: 15215 | 11 朝闻道夕死可矣
【在 a***a 的大作中提到】
: 为何？
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i*****s
发帖数: 15215 | 12 李冰给的链接里
【在 a***a 的大作中提到】
: 报道在哪里
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I***i
发帖数: 14557 | |
I***i
发帖数: 14557 | 14 和看到女生被偷放在文具盒里的虫子吓得尖叫时的窃喜同理
【在 a***a 的大作中提到】
: 为何？
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m**a
发帖数: 351 | |
l*******l
发帖数: 13923 | 16 LOL
【在 I***i 的大作中提到】
: 和看到女生被偷放在文具盒里的虫子吓得尖叫时的窃喜同理
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l*******l
发帖数: 13923 | 17 存在就是合理的
【在 m**a 的大作中提到】
: 这个虫不太合理，这么多脚有用吗？
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a***a
发帖数: 12425 | 18 你们都是坏人~~
【在 I***i 的大作中提到】
: 和看到女生被偷放在文具盒里的虫子吓得尖叫时的窃喜同理
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I***i
发帖数: 14557 | |
a***a
发帖数: 12425 | |
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I***i
发帖数: 14557 | 21 就是嘛，没啥可怕的。
【在 a***a 的大作中提到】
: 像蚯蚓
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a***a
发帖数: 12425 | 22 这次有了心理准备。打开铅笔盒时是没有心理准备的
我总脚的肉虫顾顾悠悠的很隔映
【在 I***i 的大作中提到】
: 就是嘛，没啥可怕的。
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e****o
发帖数: 3844 | 23 严重同意……大肉虫……恶……
【在 a***a 的大作中提到】
: 这次有了心理准备。打开铅笔盒时是没有心理准备的
: 我总脚的肉虫顾顾悠悠的很隔映
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i*****s
发帖数: 15215 | |
p*******s
发帖数: 339 | |
c*******t
发帖数: 345 | |
