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Health & Science2h 19m ago

A Virginia Tech-led team of international scientists has solved one of the last major mysteries in millipede evolution, revealing new clues about a group of animals that helped pave the way for life on land.

Los Tuxtlas, Mexico, Canary Islands, Spain

Who
Paul Marek, Luisa "Fernanda" Vasquez-Valverde M.S. '21, Ph.D. '24, Virginia Tech-led team of international scientists, 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
A Virginia Tech-led team of international scientists has solved one of the last major mysteries in millipede evolution, revealing new clues about a group of animals that helped pave the way for life on land.
When
Fri, 12 Jun 2026 15:02:00 GMT · 2h 19m ago
Where
Los Tuxtlas, Mexico, Canary Islands, Spain ·
Why
Scientists had not fully unraveled the evolutionary story of millipedes despite their ancient history, specifically lacking fresh specimens for DNA analysis of rare groups like Siphoniulida and Siphonocryptida to confirm their place in the millipede family tree.
The Frontline Impact

How this affects you

This research provides the first complete evolutionary history of all living millipede orders, pushing back their estimated origins to nearly 460 million years ago and highlighting their crucial role in establishing Earth's terrestrial ecosystems long before vertebrates.

Story chain

1 event in this thread
No related history yet - this is the origin event.

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