Alien Like Creature: In a major discovery, researchers at the University of the Sunshine Coast in Australia recently found a new genus and five new species of millipedes in far-flung dense jungles of Tanzania, South Africa. These researchers, including international collaborators, visited the Udzungwa Mountains and conducted their research of tree and vine growth, the New York Post reported. Interestingly, USC Professor Andy Marshall likened the millipedes’ heads to characters from the famous Star Wars series.
According to Marshall, each of these millipedes are several centimeters long and has around 200 legs.
It is worth noting that, the largest African millipedes can grow up to 35 cms, or 14 inches, long.
‘The millipedes will help us to determine two very different theories on the role of vines on forest recovery – whether the vines are like bandages protecting a wound or ‘parasitoids’ choking the forest. We record millipedes of all sizes during our fieldwork to measure forest recovery because they are great indicators of forest health, but we didn’t realise the significance of these species until the myriapodologists had assessed our specimens,” Marshall said.
”It’s remarkable that so many of these new species did not appear in earlier collecting of millipedes from the same area, but we were still hoping for something new,” he added.
This new discovery showcased much more there is to learn about tropical forests.
The new genus and species were featured and described in the European Journal of Taxonomy in a paper titled ‘A mountain of millipedes’.
The name of the these five species are – Attemsostreptus julostriatus, Attemsostreptus magombera, Attemsostreptus leptoptilos, Udzungwastreptus marianae and Attemsostreptus leptoptilos, as per USC.
The specimens of these species are secured in the Danish Museum of Natural History at the University of Copenhagen.
The project was funded by the Australian Research Council. The prime objective of the project was to understand global forest recovery from heavy disturbance.
from Latest News, Breaking News, LIVE News, Top News Headlines, Viral Video, Cricket LIVE, Sports, Entertainment, Business, Health, Lifestyle and Utility News | India.Com https://ift.tt/4s7p25r