Close-up footage shows a giant African millipede crawl across a log with its hundreds of legs.

Wildlife photographer and filmer of this video Ian Redmond told Newsflare: "There is something quite mesmerising about the movement of millipede legs - like a mini Mexican wave in a stadium, it is known as a metachronal rhythm, and has a strange flowing beauty.

"Millipedes are detritivores, feeding on decaying plant matter; they play an important role in the ecological processes that keep forests healthy, their droppings providing nutrients for growing trees.

"When attacked they coil up and wait - and if further provoked, they exude a noxious fluid that effectively deters many predators.

"Even ants leave them alone - as indicated by the ant in the video rushing in the opposite direction."

This footage was filmed in Virunga National Park​, Congo in 2010

There is something quite mesmerising about the movement of millipede legs - like a mini-Mexican wave in a stadium, it is known as a metachronal rhythm, and has a strange flowing beauty. It is easier to see in the #GiantAfricanMillipede, aka Shongololo or Tanganyika Train, found on forest floors across East and Central #Africa, especially if you get down on hands and knees to observe closely. They grow up to 12 inches (30cm) but this one, strolling along a log near Rumangabo in the #Virunga National Park​, #DRCongo, was not quite six inches. #Millipedes are detritivores, feeding on decaying plant matter; they play an important role in the ecological processes that keep forests healthy, their droppings providing nutrients for growing trees. When attacked they coil up and wait - and if further provoked, they exude a noxious fluid that effectively deters many predators. Even ants leave them alone - as indicated by the ant in the video rushing in the opposite direction.

Despite the name, millipedes don't have a thousand legs. Depending on the species they might have up to 400, though this species, Archispirostreptus gigas, averages 256, with two pairs per segment.

This is No.56 in the #BrightenYourDay series to connect viewers to the natural world during #Covid19 #lockdown.