Palakkad: A new species of millipede belonging to Harpagophoridae family was discovered in Palakkad. Dr Pradeep M Sankaran, researcher at the research division of arachnology in Thevara Sacred Heart College, has found the rare millipede during a research study at Trippalur in Palakkad.
The new species is named ‘Carlogonus Gayathri’ after the Gayathripuzha River, a tributary of Bharatapuzha in Palakkad district.
The millipede which is found in brown and yellow mixed colour has a round shape. It has 65 circles and 239 legs on its body which grows up to 133 mm. 55 to 59 small eyes are found on both sides of its body. This millipede can be easily identified with the mark on the upper part of the mouth which resembles the edges of a machete.
‘Carlogonus Gayathri’ usually hides between dry leaves during summer and roams freely during monsoon. This type of millipede is largely found on pavements and farmlands during monsoon. It survives eating organic waste and algae.
The research funded by the Science and Technology department was carried out under the guidance of Dr PA Sebastian. Zootaxa, an international research journal, has published the research report.
Click the link to access the report:https://www.biotaxa.org/Zootaxa/article/view/zootaxa.4868.1.2
