New Millipede Species Discovered Under Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES COUNTY -- Researchers have found a new species of living creatures — described as pale, eyeless and with nearly 500 legs — thriving in LA's soil.

According to the National Science Foundation, which funded the research that made the discovery, the species of millipede, dubbed Illacme socal in honor of its Southern California roots, serves a critical role in the area's ecosystem.

Millipedes break down dying and decaying material from plants, fungi and other sources and provide key nutrients to the soil that help support new life.

Virginia Tech Associate Professor Paul Marek discovered the new species in two different areas of greater Los Angeles. The first was in the Whiting Ranch Wilderness Park, a 2,500-acre area of rivers and woods in Orange County just south of Anaheim.

A second possible specimen, a juvenile millipede, was observed in the Eaton Canyon Natural Area, just north of Pasadena, but could not be fully identified given its relative age, according to the NSF.

There are an estimated 4-to-6 million arthropod species, including millipedes, living on Earth, but only about a million have been described to date, according to the NSF.

More information on the discovery can be found at https://new.nsf.gov/science-ma...