Giant millipede lost to science rediscovered in Madagascar’s jungle

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A giant dark-brown millipede, not documented for 126 years, has been recorded in Makira Natural Park, home to the largest and most intact forest in Madagascar.

It is one of 21 “lost” species rediscovered by Re:wild during an expedition to the African island in September last year, the results of which have just been published. The conservation organization aims to locate species that have not been seen and recorded for a minimum of 10 years, hoping that by removing data deficiencies it will be able to help prevent species extinction.

Christina Biggs, lost species officer for Re:wild, spotted the giant millipede crawling over her boot outside her tent one morning. “I filmed it for a while because I thought it was cool, having no clue that it was an actual lost species,” she told CNN in an email. “It wasn’t until Dmitry Telnov, a beetle specialist with the Natural History Museum in London, sent material to a German colleague specializing in Madagascan myriapods, that we found out it hadn’t been documented since 1897.”

The longest specimen of the species (scientific name: Spirostreptus sculptus) observed was a gigantic female measuring 27.5 centimeters (10.8 inches). The team was surprised to discover that despite a lack of scientific records, the millipede was in fact fairly common across the rainforest.

“There are so many reasons why a species might not have been documented in over a decade, or (are) ‘lost’ by our definition. Disease, pollution, catastrophic weather, human-wildlife conflict. But sometimes it’s simply because people haven’t looked for it or are less interested because it’s not fuzzy and cute,” said Biggs.

A new species of spider was discovered during Makira expedition.

Among the other 20 species rediscovered were jumping spiders, ant-like flower beetles and three species of fish. The team also documented new species that had never previously been recorded in Makira, such as the zebra spider.

African Parks

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Brogan Pett, director of the SpiDiverse working group at the Biodiversity Inventory for Conservation (BINCO) and doctoral candidate at the University of Exeter, in the UK, made the discovery after spotting a hanging egg sac in the entrance of a small cave.

“I immediately recognized them as something special,” he said in a press release. “Pendulous egg sacs is one of the characteristics of the family of zebra spiders this new species belongs to. I crawled a short way inside the cave and saw a few adult spiders guarding egg sacs – they were quite large spiders and it was remarkable that they had gone unrecognized for so long.”

Searching for lost species

Biggs explains that in the search for lost species, Re:wild usually focuses on finding one or two species on a single expedition. But due to the high density of biodiversity in Madagascar, they took a different approach, with a team of 30 scientists from different universities and conservation groups specializing in a range of species.

However, some of the species they went looking for were not rediscovered, such as the Masoala fork-marked lemur, Calumma vatososa, a large chameleon, and the dusky tetraka, a small yellow songbird.

Mighty baobabs silhouetted against a sunset at Baobab Alley in Morondava, Madagascar. The iconic trees are far from the only stunning native species to call the world’s fourth largest island home. Scroll through the gallery to discover more…

The ring-tailed lemur is perhaps Madagascar’s best-known endemic species. The distinctive rings aren’t the only way these creatures stand out: scientists have discovered males release a fruity and floral pheromone from their wrists during mating season. The mammal is categorized as endangered by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Madagascar is home to 107 lemur species, with 103 threatened with extinction and 33 species critically endangered, per a 2020 assessment.

Tomato frogs are so called because of their round shape and distinctive warm colors. Females are usually slightly bigger, and bright red or orange, and males yellow or orange. Unlike tomatoes, these rainforest-dwellers are far from tasty: the frogs secrete a toxic liquid from their skin, and can also inflate themselves, to put off potential predators.

The yellow-bellied sunbird-asity is found at altitude in shrubland and forests in the east and north of Madagascar. The small bird has a distinctive curved bill to feed on nectar, and males are usually more brightly colored than females.

Madame Berthe’s mouse lemur is the world’s smallest primate, weighing approximately one ounce (35 grams) and measuring around 3.5 inches long. It’s a critically endangered species according to the IUCN, living in pockets of dry forest in west Madagascar threatened by slash and burn farming and tree felling. The mouse lemur’s population was estimated to be no more than 8,000 adults in 2005, and numbers are decreasing. Unless deforestation is curbed, the IUCN believes it could be “lost before 2030.”

The critically endangered radiated tortoise lives at the southern tip of Madagascar, grazing on prickly pears. They can weigh up to 35 pounds (16 kilograms) and live up to 50 years. Even by tortoise standards it has a beautiful shell, with a distinctive geometric pattern featuring radiated yellow lines, which gives it its name. It has nerves in its shell, so it can feel when it’s touched.

The panther chameleon is a master of disguise that calls the north and east of the island its home. More chameleon species live in Madagascar than anywhere in the world, but deforestation and the illegal pet trade is impacting the panther chameleon population.

Malagasy tree boas can grow up to 2.3 meters (7.5 feet) and are ovoviviparous, meaning females grow eggs inside their bodies and produce young that are born fully formed. They live off a diet of rodents and birds and hunt at night, using heat-detecting sensors around their mouth to find their prey.

The fossa is the largest carnivorous mammal stalking the forests of Madagascar, growing six feet from nose to tail. A strong climber, this apex predator has lethal claws and teeth capable of taking down lemurs and other prey. Known for their unusual and lengthy mating ritual, the fossa was once categorized as a member of the cat family, but today it is classified as a member of Eupleridae, a family of carnivores specifically from Madagascar.

The young Madagascar owl (pictured) has a distinctive white down with black eyes. When it reaches adulthood, it has a brown plumage with darker streaks and long tufted ears, surviving on a diet of small lemurs, rodents, frogs, bats, lizards and insects.

The aye-aye is a relic of a group of primates all but gone from Earth. Fossils of members of the Daubentoniidae family have been found in Egypt and Kenya, but the Madagascan aye-aye is the only species still alive. To some, it is considered an omen of bad luck, which has unfortunately led to them being killed by humans in the past. The aye-aye lives in the rainforest and has a distinct long, slender third finger on its hands. It takes said finger and taps on trees, listening for insect larvae inside, then uses it to extract them.

Sunset moths are day moths renowned for their vivid iridescent colors. Once mistaken for a butterfly, it has been prized by collectors for centuries. Its main food is a type of euphorbia plant dispersed by lemurs – an example, says the IUCN, of how protecting one animal can have a positive effect on others.

The lowland streaked tenrec is part of a group of mammals endemic to Madagascar. Floor-dwelling tenrecs are often preyed upon by fossas and other animals, but this species makes it hard work for predators. It will raise its long spines and jump at predators in attempt to scare them off, giving them a reputation as angry little critters. The same spines on its lower back can also rub together to create a high-pitched buzzing sound, which biologists think they use to communicate with their young.

The Satanic leaf-tailed gecko, owner of a wonderfully self-explanatory name, lives in the highland rainforests of Madagascar. It uses its tail as camouflage to avoid snakes and birds, but that’s not its only treelike feature: it also has twig-shaped limbs, and skin colors resembling mottled leaves and lichen.

The wonders of Madagascar

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Biggs fears that this could mean that some species are extinct. The country has faced extensive deforestation, with one 2023 study estimating that Madagascar has lost 80% of its natural areas. While Makira is relatively intact, the team saw evidence of illegal mining, homesteading and rice paddies in the protected area, said Biggs. It also detected several invasive species, such as mosquitofish, black rats and land snails, that can be a threat to native wildlife.

“We know that the larger a species is and the longer it has gone undetected, the higher the likelihood of extinction. So we’re worried about the fork-marked lemur and the Fito leaf chameleon,” she said. The two species were last documented in 2004 and 2006 respectively, whereas the dusty tetraka was spotted by the Re:wild team in 2022 and 2023 in two other locations in Madagascar, so they are confident the species exists but have been unable to confirm Makira as a habitat.

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Biggs cautioned that the results were from “one survey in very rainy conditions” and that “much more work is needed to conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that the last individuals have died.” The organization and its partners will continue expeditions on the island to gather further data.

“Effective conservation and protection efforts begin with understanding which species are present and where they are located,” said Merlijn Jocque, a researcher at BINCO, in a press release. “Often, this critical information is lacking, making it difficult to prioritize and implement effective conservation actions within limited resources.”

Biggs hopes that by identifying some of the 4,300 species globally that have not been documented in a decade or more, they will be able to aid conservation efforts for vulnerable species and prevent extinctions.

“You can’t save what you don’t know is there,” she said.