Saving the small things that run the planetLatin name: Turdulisoma cf helenreadae
Notable feature: The Mardy Monster is a brown millipede, about 12mm in length. It’s body has distinctive, bluntly rounded extensions of its exoskeleton.
Conservation Status: Not Evaluated
Where in the UK: Known from a single UK site - the former Mardy Colliery in the village of Maerdy, Rhondda Cynon Taf, South Wales.
The Mardy Monster is a ‘New to Science’ millipede found by Christian Owen at Mardy Colliery in December 2016. The first specimens were discovered under an old railway sleeper, with more individuals found beneath stones on sparsely vegetated banks of colliery spoil.
A brown millipede, about 12mm in length, with each eye having about 25 ommatidia in the shape of an equilateral triangle. It is very difficult to distinguish between other new species of millipede found in recent years in South Wales.
Globally, this species has only been found at the former Mardy Colliery, Maerdy, Rhondda Cynon Taf, South Wales. It’s not known if the Mardy Monster is native to the UK and was overlooked or it was introduced.
Buglife is working to increase awareness of invertebrates and the Beddau Beast through specific projects, such as Coil Spoil Connections, but we need your help! Visit the project page to find out how you can get involved in events and BioBlitz’s. This species was found during a bioblitz at the Mardy Colliery site so who knows what other species are out there waiting to be discovered!
Join a recording scheme and log your finds – download the iRecord app and get recording!
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