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Health & Science5h 15m ago
An international team led by Virginia Tech researchers has completed the evolutionary family tree of millipedes, revealing they may have been crawling across Earth's landscapes nearly 460 million years ago, long before vertebrates ventured onto land.
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Los Tuxtlas in Mexico, Canary Islands of Spain
Who
Virginia Tech researchers, Paul Marek, Luisa "Fernanda" Vasquez-Valverde M.S. '21, Ph.D. '24, scientists from the Field Museum of Natural History, Hampden-Sydney College, Universidad de La Laguna, Virginia Tech's School of Plant and Environmental Sciences, the Australian National Insect Collection, West Virginia University, and Universidad Autonoma del Estado de Hidalgo
What
An international team led by Virginia Tech researchers has completed the evolutionary family tree of millipedes, revealing they may have been crawling across Earth's landscapes nearly 460 million years ago, long before vertebrates ventured onto land.
When
Sun, 14 Jun 2026 07:35:08 GMT · 5h 15m ago
Where
Los Tuxtlas in Mexico, Canary Islands of Spain ·
Why
Major questions about millipede evolution remained unanswered, particularly regarding the placement of two rare millipede groups, Siphoniulida and Siphonocryptida, in the family tree.
The Frontline Impact
How this affects you
This research provides a more complete understanding of early terrestrial ecosystems and the evolution of life on land, highlighting millipedes' critical role as decomposers and pioneers before the arrival of vertebrates.
Story chain
3 events in this thread- Health & Science5h 15m agoAn international team led by Virginia Tech researchers has completed the evolutionary family tree of millipedes, revealing they may have been crawling across Earth's landscapes nearly 460 million years ago.Open article
- Currently Reading5h 15m agoAn international team led by Virginia Tech researchers has completed the evolutionary family tree of millipedes, revealing they may have been crawling across Earth's landscapes nearly 460 million years ago, long before vertebrates ventured onto land.
- Health & Science5h 15m agoAn international team led by Virginia Tech researchers has completed the evolutionary family tree of millipedes, tracing their origins back nearly 460 million years.Open article