These rare, giant millipedes only exist in Florida
While Florida is perhaps best known for its beaches and wetlands, its landscape has another notable feature: ridges. Millions of years ago, sea levels were higher than today and these high areas became like islands. Species living on these ridges evolved in complete isolation, so the region is now teeming with native animals that exist nowhere else.
The oldest and highest of these unique systems is the Lake Wales Ridge in central Florida. It is home to the Florida scrub centipede (Floridobolus penneri), one of the largest centipedes in North America. This rare and little-known arthropod is unique to the Sunshine State and can grow up to four inches in length. It moves with more than 100 legs, lives mainly underground and comes out at night.
Apparently, they’re also picky when it comes to making babies. At least the ones that Anne Sawl, a graduate student in conservation biology at the University of South Florida in St. Petersburg, cares for, seem to be. It wasn’t until she placed them in a kiddie pool with ridge plants that she found offspring.
“One day I was moving soil near the roots of the plant and noticed a small white spot,” Sawl said in a statement. “It caught my eye. I picked it up and realized it was a baby centipede. After so much trial and error in the lab, I was completely flabbergasted that they had bred.”
Maybe the centipedes weren’t used to so much attention. After all, they hadn’t been the subject of scientific study in almost 20 years. In this context, Sawl’s research on the population and spread of the Florida centipede provides new information that could aid future conservation efforts.
The endemic species is believed to be threatened by significant habitat loss. Researchers estimate that human activity destroyed 85 percent of the Lake Wales Ridge’s natural habitat before humans settled there, according to Sawl.
“Anne took a group of animals that most people overlook and produced several publishable research chapters with brand-new information,” added Deby Cassill, a professor of integrative biology at the University of South Florida and Sawl’s advisor. “Centipedes may not be glamorous, but they are ecological champions in these fragile habitats.”
Florida scrub centipedes play an important role in recycling nutrients – or rather, their digestive systems do. They turn their plant-based flours into a crucial source of nutrients, according to Sawl. Yes, we are talking about their droppings.
However, Sawl also discovered that these unique, multi-legged arthropods prefer mushrooms and mushrooms instead of what some plant researchers previously thought. They may just be difficult animals.
The best new PopSci 2025 releases
