''Nannarrup hoffmani'', commonly known as Hoffman's dwarf centipede, is a
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
of
centipede
Centipedes (from New Latin , "hundred", and Latin , " foot") are predatory arthropods belonging to the class Chilopoda (Ancient Greek , ''kheilos'', lip, and New Latin suffix , "foot", describing the forcipules) of the subphylum Myriapoda, an ...
that was discovered in New York City's
Central Park
Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West Side, Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the List of New York City parks, fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban par ...
in 2002.
It is 10 mm long, and has 82 legs.
Researchers think that the species originated in East Asia and was carried to the United States in a shipment of imported plants.
The species is the first new species to be discovered in Central Park in more than a century. It is the smallest known species of centipede.
The species is named after Dr.
Richard L. Hoffman
Richard Lawrence Hoffman (September 25, 1927 – June 10, 2012) was an American zoologist known as an international expert on millipedes, and a leading authority on the natural history of Virginia and the Appalachian Mountains. He was a biology ...
, former curator of invertebrates at the
Virginia Museum of Natural History
The Virginia Museum of Natural History is the state's natural history museum located in Martinsville, Virginia founded in 1984. The museum has several different award-winning publications, is affiliated with the Smithsonian Institution, and has ...
, for his role in helping to identify the species.
References
External links
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Geophilomorpha
Animals described in 2003
Fauna of the Northeastern United States
Central Park
Monotypic arthropod genera
{{myriapoda-stub