The king of the Movile cave in Romania is a diminutive one, at under 2 inches in length.
A photo of the newly discovered centipede species Cryptops speleorex, the largest inhabitant of Romania’s Movile cave known to date. (Mihai Baciu, GESS LAB, Mangalia)
(CN) Scientists have discovered a new species of centipede able to survive in the most inhabitable of places, deep within a Romanian cave with an unforgiving atmosphere and some of the harshest environmental conditions.
In a study published Wednesday in the journal Zookeys, international scientists Varpu Vahtera from the University of Turku in Finland, Pavel Stoev from the National Museum of Natural History in Bulgaria, and Nesrine Akkari from the Museum of Natural History in Vienna, Austria, discuss their discovery of this fascinating creature that appears to be the largest inhabitant of the otherworldly cave.
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IMAGE: A photo of the newly discovered species (Cryptops speleorex), the largest inhabitant of the Movile cave (Romania) known to date. view more
Credit: Mihai Baciu, GESS LAB, Mangalia.
Deemed to never see the light of the day, a new species of endemic, troglobiont centipede was discovered by an international team of scientists in the Romanian cave Movile: a unique underground ecosystem, where the oxygen in the air might be half of the amount of what we re used to, yet the sulphurous abounds; and where the animal life only exists because of chemosynthetic bacteria feeding on carbon dioxide and methane.
King of the cave: New centipede on top of the food chain in the sulfur-soaked Movile phys.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from phys.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.