Hades centipede, deepest cave-dwelling centipede, discovered by scientists

Scientists have found the deepest cave-dwelling centipede and named it after the Greek god of the underworld.

The Hades centipede, or Geophilus hadesi, lives in threecaves in Croatia's Velebit mountains. Scientists recorded the centipede living as faras 1,100 metres below the surface.

• Read the study in the journal ZooKeys

Members of theCroatianBiospeleologicalSociety, which works on research and conservation of the country's underground species, found the centipede and published their resultsin the journalZooKeys.

A top predator in the caves

"When I first saw the animal and its striking appearance, I immediately realized that this is a new, hitherto unnamed and highly adaptedto cave environment species," said Pavel Stoev, the study's lead author, in a statement.

"This finding comes to prove once again how little we know about the life in caves, where even in the best prospected areas, one can still find incredible animals."

The centipede has "exceptionally elongated antennae, trunk segmentsand leg claws," the paper reads. It's among the cave's top predators and has poison glands and long, curved claws.

The scientists found four specimens of this type of centipedewhen exploring three caves in the mountains, but they were only able to collect three.

One was gathered atabout 250 metres below the surface, another about 500 metres below the surface and the last about 980 metres below the surface. The Hades centipede located at about 1,100 metres below the surface was unreachable.

In Greek mythology, Hades is also the husband of Persephone, the queen of the underworld. There is also a Persephone centipede, which along with Hades is one of the only two known geophilomorphs that only live in caves.

The pair "rightfully [bear] the titles of a queen and king of the underworld," a statement announcing the new centipede reads.