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PHOTO COURTESY MAREK ET AL. 2021
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1,306 legs: Until researchers found this critter, 200 feet under Western Australia’s surface, every other millipede had been a lie. None had a thousand legs. Yes, before the discovery of the eyeless Eumillipes persephone, named after the mythological underworld queen Persephone, the leggiest creature on Earth had only 750 appendages. But given the way millipedes develop, persephone’s record might be supplanted, millipede expert, study leader, and Nat Geo Explorer Paul Marek tells Nat Geo. “That’s kind of hard of hard for me to wrap my mind around,” he says. Ditto. (Pictured above, the leggiest creature on Earth.)
No dogs allowed? Animal lovers in Iran are outraged by the country’s proposed law to ban pets. Introduced by 75 legislators last month, the ban would affect "crocodiles, turtles, snakes, lizards, cats, mice, rabbits, dogs, and other unclean animals as well as monkeys." Those who violate the ban would lose the animal, temporarily lose their vehicle, and face a fine said to be 10 to 30 times the monthly minimum wage, the Jerusalem Post reports.
Fire toll: As many as 17 million animals died in Brazil’s wildfires that burned from January to November 2020, BBC News reports. The fires were in the Pantanal, the world’s largest tropical wetlands—a reminder of how devastating fires can be in this kind of ecosystem, researchers write.
The largest flying creature to ever live: It had a massive wingspan of nearly 40 feet—the size of a small plane, a frighteningly lengthy beak, and long limbs. Scientists wondered for decades how the pterosaur Quetzalcoatlus was able to fly. It leapt eight feet in the air, CNN reports.
Away from a manger: You read that right. A camel in Kansas caused chaos after fleeing a Nativity scene, and police spent much of Sunday trying to corral it. At one point, the camel entered a golf course, prompting a golf-cart pursuit in which Bonner Springs, Kansas, officers "learned camels can run 40 mph," NBC News reports.
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