Get the latest Science News and Discoveries

Millipedes beat vertebrates to land by 80 million years


Millipedes may have been crawling across Earth's landscapes nearly 460 million years ago, long before vertebrates ventured onto land. A new study finally completes their evolutionary family tree, revealing surprising clues about these ancient ecosystem engineers and their early chemical defenses.

None

Get the Android app

Or read this on ScienceDaily

Read more on:

Photo of Vertebrates

Vertebrates

Photo of Land

Land

Photo of millipedes

millipedes

Related news:

News photo

From flat moss to forests and flowers: New discovery may explain how plants conquered land - EurekAlert!

News photo

Solar farm on the ocean outperforms land-based solar in Taiwan

News photo

380-Million-Year-Old Fish Fossil Reveals Secrets of Life’s First Steps Onto Land