Enghoff started early an ambitious scientist career. Being member of a Danish youth naturalist association, he decided already as child to become Denmark’s millipede expert-a position not yet taken and promising many new discoveries. Following his career dream, Enghoff studied biology and compiled a PhD about the millipedes of Madeira. Later on he received the position as curator at the Zoological Museum in Copenhagen, a professorship and leading positions within the museum and international networks.
The driving force is the joy he feels when discovering new species and sorting them into their phylogenetic position. He calls this the “stamp collector gene”. However, his work goes far beyond a simple collection. His detailed knowledge about the different groups of millipedes allows him to draw conclusions about the evolution of a certain group and helps him recognise the adaptation of a species to its environment. He enjoys recognising the large picture by putting together all the small details.

Prof. Enghoff on field work

The shocking pink dragon millipede Desmoxytes purpuros

There are plenty of undescribed millipedes out there in the world-an estimated 70,000. They come in all colours and shapes, some are more outstanding than others. The shocking pink dragon millipedefrom Thailand, , has such a striking colour that it was elected as oneof the top ten recently discovered species in 2008 (www.species.asu.edu/Top10_2008).
It was discovered by EDIT scientist H. Enghoff of the NHM Copenhagen in collaboration with his Thai colleague Prof. Panha. This discovery lead to a very fruitful collaboration between the two scientists and their students, resulting in several publications, the discovery of additional new species, and regular visits with field and collection work.