A previously unknown species has been discovered lurking in the parks of Los Angeles and Orange counties.
The animal boasts 486 legs and a toothy, Predator-style head. It has the greenish translucence of a glow-in-the-dark toy in daylight, and weaves through the soil as elegantly as an embroiderer's needle.
But step away from the microscope and the Los Angeles thread millipede (Illacme socal) becomes a lot less intimidating. With the width of a thin mechanical pencil lead and the length of a sewing pin, it's easy to see how this tiny, thread-like snippet of an invertebrate has gone unnoticed — until now.
