Quick answer: The animal with the most legs ever documented is Eumillipes persephone, a tiny subterranean millipede from Western Australia. One female specimen had 1,306 legs, making it the first known animal to truly live up to the name “millipede,” which literally means “thousand feet.” The previous record holder, Illacme plenipes, had up to 750 legs. Among centipedes, Gonibregmatus plurimipes is a record holder with up to 382 legs.
There is no useful global “Top 10 species” ranking after those record holders because thousands of millipede and centipede species have different numbers of body segments and legs, and some continue adding segments as they grow. The list below therefore combines the best-documented record holders with familiar examples to show how leg counts change across arthropods.
Millipedes have two pairs of legs on most body rings and include the leggiest animals known to science.
Animals With the Most Legs at a Glance
| Example | Maximum or typical leg count | What makes it notable |
|---|---|---|
| Eumillipes persephone | Up to 1,306 | World record holder for the most legs on any known animal |
| Illacme plenipes | Up to 750 | Previous world record holder |
| Gonibregmatus plurimipes | Up to 382 | Leggiest known centipede |
| House centipede | 30 | 15 pairs in the adult |
| Stone centipede | 30 | 15 pairs in fully grown adults |
| Typical caterpillar | 6 true legs + up to 10 prolegs | Often appears to have 16 “legs,” but prolegs are not true jointed legs |
| Woodlouse | 14 | Seven pairs of walking legs |
| American lobster | 10 | A decapod; the front pair form large claws |
| Spider | 8 | Four pairs of walking legs |
| Adult insect | 6 | Three pairs attached to the thorax |
Important: this table is not an exhaustive mathematical ranking of every many-legged species on Earth. Numerous millipedes have more than 30 legs and fall between the record-holding species and familiar centipedes. The purpose is to show the documented extremes and explain how leg counts differ among major arthropod groups.
What Animal Has the Most Legs?
Eumillipes persephone has the most legs of any animal yet documented.
The species was formally described in 2021 after researchers collected specimens from deep geological drill holes in Western Australia. One female had 330 body rings and an extraordinary 1,306 legs.
The animal is surprisingly small. The record-setting female was only about 95.7 millimeters long and less than one millimeter wide. It is pale, eyeless, thread-like, and adapted to life deep underground.
Researchers found specimens between roughly 15 and 60 meters below the surface. The name Eumillipes combines words meaning “true thousand feet,” because it was the first known millipede to exceed 1,000 legs.
Its species name, persephone, refers to Persephone, the Greek mythological figure associated with the underworld—an appropriate name for an animal living far below the surface.
Why Does Eumillipes persephone Have 1,306 Legs?
Scientists think the extreme body elongation helps it move through tiny underground cracks and spaces.
Its body is made of many flexible rings that can compress and slide relative to one another. Hundreds of short legs provide repeated pushing forces as the animal squeezes through the three-dimensional spaces between soil particles and rock fractures.
The 2021 description of the species suggested that extreme elongation evolved independently in different millipede lineages living in similar underground environments.
In other words, Eumillipes and the former record holder Illacme are not especially close relatives. Their similarly long bodies appear to be an example of convergent evolution.
Illacme plenipes — The Former Record Holder
Before Eumillipes persephone was discovered, the world record belonged to the Californian millipede Illacme plenipes.
A female specimen of Illacme plenipes was documented with 750 legs. The species is extremely narrow, pale, and adapted to moving through soil and underground spaces.
Its species name plenipes means “full of feet,” which is appropriate for an animal carrying hundreds of tiny legs.
A detailed redescription published in ZooKeys documented its remarkable body structure and natural history. Although 750 legs seemed almost unbelievable at the time, the later discovery of Eumillipes showed that millipedes could exceed even 1,000.
Gonibregmatus plurimipes — The Leggiest Centipede
The centipede record is held by Gonibregmatus plurimipes, a highly elongated species from Fiji.
The scientific description of Eumillipes persephone cites Gonibregmatus plurimipes as the leggiest known centipede, with 191 pairs of legs—382 legs in total.
This is a useful reminder that the names “centipede” and “millipede” are not literal leg counts. A centipede does not necessarily have exactly 100 legs, and most millipedes have far fewer than 1,000.
Long-bodied soil centipedes can carry far more leg pairs than the familiar house centipede, although the exact number varies by species.
Do Centipedes Really Have 100 Legs?
Usually not.
Centipedes have one pair of walking legs on each leg-bearing body segment. Different centipede groups have very different numbers of segments.
One unusual feature of centipede anatomy is that adults generally have an odd number of leg pairs. That means an ordinary centipede with exactly 50 pairs—exactly 100 legs—is not the typical pattern implied by the English name.
Long, soil-dwelling geophilomorph centipedes can have well over 100 pairs, while familiar stone and house centipedes have far fewer.
House Centipede
The house centipede (Scutigera coleoptrata) looks as though it has an enormous number of legs because the legs are extremely long and spread widely around the body.
In reality, a mature house centipede has 15 pairs of legs, or 30 legs total.
Penn State Extension notes that newly hatched house centipedes begin with only four pairs. As they molt and grow, they add additional leg-bearing segments until reaching the adult count of 15 pairs.
The final pair can be exceptionally long, especially in adult females, and may be nearly twice the body length.
Stone Centipede
Stone centipedes in the order Lithobiomorpha are another familiar group with 15 pairs of legs as adults.
The Natural History Museum notes that fully grown stone centipedes have 15 pairs and are common beneath stones, bark, leaf litter, and compost.
Young stone centipedes begin with fewer pairs and gain additional leg-bearing segments as they molt.
Unlike millipedes, which are mainly detritivores or plant-material feeders, centipedes are predators. They use a modified first pair of appendages called forcipules to inject venom into small prey.
Millipede vs Centipede: Which Has More Legs?
| Feature | Millipedes | Centipedes |
|---|---|---|
| Legs per main body ring | Usually two pairs on most rings | One pair per leg-bearing segment |
| World record | 1,306 legs | 382 legs |
| Record species | Eumillipes persephone | Gonibregmatus plurimipes |
| Typical lifestyle | Mostly detritivores and decomposers | Predators |
| Body shape | Often cylindrical | Often flattened or slender |
The Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History summarizes the basic distinction: millipedes have two pairs of legs on most body segments, while centipedes have one pair per leg-bearing segment.
Do Millipedes Really Have 1,000 Legs?
For most of scientific history, the answer was no.
Before 2021, the highest confirmed count was 750 legs in Illacme plenipes. The discovery of Eumillipes persephone finally produced a real millipede with more than 1,000 legs.
That does not mean every millipede has anywhere near 1,000. Many common millipedes have dozens or a few hundred legs, depending on species, age, sex, and number of body rings.
Millipedes also do not hatch with their maximum number of legs. In many species, new body rings and legs are added during successive molts.
Caterpillars — Why “16 Legs” Is Not Quite Correct
Caterpillars create an interesting counting problem.
A typical butterfly or moth caterpillar has three pairs of true jointed legs on the thorax, giving it six true legs just like the adult insect.
Many caterpillars also have up to five pairs of fleshy prolegs on the abdomen. If someone simply counts every structure touching the ground, that can look like 16 legs.
But the prolegs are not anatomically equivalent to the six true jointed insect legs. They are temporary larval structures that disappear during metamorphosis.
This is why “caterpillars have 16 legs” is useful for simple identification but needs qualification in an anatomy article.
Caterpillars have six true jointed legs plus fleshy prolegs; the prolegs are temporary larval structures rather than true insect legs.
Woodlice — 14 Legs
Woodlice are often mistaken for insects, but they are actually terrestrial crustaceans.
An adult woodlouse has seven pairs of legs, or 14 legs total.
The Natural History Museum uses this feature to help distinguish a pill woodlouse from a pill millipede. A woodlouse has one pair of legs per relevant segment, while millipedes have two pairs on most body rings.
Woodlice are relatives of aquatic crustaceans and still depend on moist environments because their respiratory structures function best when kept damp.
Woodlice are crustaceans rather than insects and have seven pairs of walking legs.
American Lobster — 10 Legs
The American lobster (Homarus americanus) belongs to the decapod crustaceans.
Decapod literally means “ten feet,” and NOAA Fisheries describes the American lobster as having 10 legs.
The front pair are enlarged into powerful claws. One typically functions as a heavier crusher claw, while the other has a sharper edge better suited to gripping and tearing.
Because those claws are modified limbs, they still count as part of the lobster’s ten-legged body plan.
Lobsters are decapods with five pairs of legs; the first pair is enlarged into claws.
For more examples of animals with specialized claws, see Animals With Claws.
Do Crabs Have 8 Legs or 10?
Crabs are also decapods, so the standard body plan has five pairs of thoracic legs—10 appendages total.
The confusion comes from the first pair being modified into claws. If someone counts only the obvious walking legs behind the claws, a crab may appear to have eight.
NOAA’s crab identification guide explicitly describes crabs as decapod crustaceans with 10 legs, with the first two appendages forming the claws.
So the old version of this page was misleading when it described crabs as simply having “four pairs” of legs.
Spiders — 8 Legs
Adult spiders have four pairs of walking legs, giving them eight legs.
This is one of the simplest ways to distinguish spiders and other arachnids from insects, which have three pairs.
Spiders also have additional appendages called pedipalps near the mouth. Pedipalps are important for sensing, feeding, and reproduction, but they are not counted as walking legs.
Adult Insects — 6 Legs
Adult insects have three pairs of true legs attached to the thorax.
This six-legged body plan is one of the defining features of the class Insecta. Beetles, butterflies, ants, bees, grasshoppers, flies, and adult moths all belong to this basic pattern even when the legs are highly modified.
The Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History lists three pairs of legs as a fundamental insect characteristic.
Some immature insects look very different. Caterpillars may have extra prolegs, while fly larvae can appear legless. The six-legged rule refers to the true adult insect body plan.
Why Do Millipedes Have So Many Legs?
Leg number is closely connected to body segmentation.
Millipedes have repeated trunk rings, and most of those rings carry two pairs of legs. Species with extremely elongated bodies therefore accumulate enormous numbers of limbs.
In deeply subterranean species such as Eumillipes persephone and Illacme plenipes, long flexible bodies and many short legs may improve movement through tiny cracks and soil spaces.
More legs can provide repeated pushing points against the surrounding substrate, helping an animal force its way through narrow underground passages.
Why Do Centipedes Have Fewer Legs Than Millipedes?
Centipedes and millipedes evolved different body plans.
Centipedes have one pair of legs per leg-bearing segment, while most millipede trunk rings carry two pairs.
Centipedes are also active predators. Their longer legs and flatter body shape are suited to rapid movement and prey capture, while many millipedes rely on numerous shorter legs to push a cylindrical body through soil and decaying vegetation.
Does More Legs Mean Faster?
No.
The fastest many-legged animals are not necessarily the ones with the highest leg count.
House centipedes have only 30 legs but can move very quickly. The record-setting Eumillipes persephone, despite having more than 1,000 legs, lives underground and appears adapted for pushing through confined spaces rather than sprinting across open ground.
Speed depends on leg length, gait, body flexibility, muscle function, habitat, and behavior—not simply the number of limbs.
Do Animals Ever Lose Legs and Grow Them Back?
Some arthropods can regenerate lost limbs, especially if the injury occurs before later molts.
The degree of regeneration varies widely by species and age. A regenerated leg may initially be smaller and then increase in size after additional molts.
Leg regeneration should not be confused with millipedes naturally adding new body rings and legs during normal development. Those are different biological processes.
Frequently Asked Questions
What animal has the most legs in the world?
Eumillipes persephone holds the documented world record. A female specimen from Western Australia had 1,306 legs.
Is there really an animal with 1,000 legs?
Yes. Eumillipes persephone is the first known millipede documented with more than 1,000 legs, reaching 1,306.
What had the most legs before Eumillipes persephone was discovered?
The previous record holder was Illacme plenipes, a California millipede documented with as many as 750 legs.
Which centipede has the most legs?
Gonibregmatus plurimipes is cited as the leggiest known centipede, with up to 191 pairs, or 382 legs.
Do millipedes have exactly 1,000 legs?
No. Most millipedes have far fewer. Leg count varies with species, sex, age, and number of body rings.
Do centipedes have exactly 100 legs?
No. Centipede species have different numbers of leg-bearing segments, and their total number of leg pairs is usually odd.
How many legs does a house centipede have?
An adult house centipede has 15 pairs, or 30 legs.
How many legs does a woodlouse have?
An adult woodlouse has seven pairs, or 14 legs.
Does a caterpillar have 16 legs?
A typical caterpillar has six true jointed legs plus up to ten fleshy prolegs. Counting all of them can give 16, but the prolegs are not true insect legs.
Do crabs have 8 legs or 10?
Crabs are decapods with 10 thoracic appendages. The first pair is modified into claws, which is why people sometimes count only eight walking legs.
Scientific and Reference Sources
Scientific Reports — The First True Millipede: 1,306 Legs Long
University of Minnesota Extension — Caterpillar True Legs and Prolegs
NOAA Fisheries — Crab Identification and 10-Leg Decapod Body Plan
Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History — Arthropod Leg Patterns
Final Takeaway
The animal with the most legs ever scientifically documented is Eumillipes persephone, with 1,306 legs. It replaced Illacme plenipes, the former 750-leg record holder. Among centipedes, Gonibregmatus plurimipes can reach 382 legs.
The huge variation in leg number comes from arthropod body segmentation. Millipedes can add repeated rings carrying two pairs of legs, centipedes carry one pair per leg-bearing segment, woodlice have seven pairs, decapod crustaceans have five pairs, spiders have four pairs, and adult insects have three. The number of legs is therefore not just a curiosity—it reflects fundamentally different body plans and evolutionary strategies.
