48
Health & Science6h 47m 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.

Archive Window: 7 Days Left

Los Tuxtlas (Mexico), Canary Islands (Spain), Virginia Tech (USA)

Who
international team led by Virginia Tech researchers, Paul Marek, Luisa "Fernanda" Vasquez-Valverde
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.
When
Sun, 14 Jun 2026 07:35:08 GMT · 6h 47m ago
Where
Los Tuxtlas (Mexico), Canary Islands (Spain), Virginia Tech (USA) ·
Why
Researchers sought to fill long-standing gaps in the millipede family tree, specifically concerning two rare millipede groups, Siphoniulida and Siphonocryptida.
The Frontline Impact

How this affects you

This study significantly rewrites the timeline of terrestrial life, positioning millipedes as key early pioneers that helped prepare Earth for the colonization by vertebrates, including humans. By tracing their evolution and adaptations like chemical defenses, the research highlights the critical and underappreciated role of millipedes as 'ecosystem engineers' for hundreds of millions of years.

Story chain

3 events in this thread
  1. Currently Reading6h 47m 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.
  2. Health & Science6h 47m 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.
    Open article
  3. Health & Science6h 47m ago
    An 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

Verified Sources & Citations