How Ancient Centipede Ancestors Conquered the Earth
The New York Times • • science
Key Points:
- Myriapods, including centipedes and millipedes, first crawled onto land about 425 million years ago and have since adapted to nearly every terrestrial environment on Earth.
- Fossil evidence of early myriapods has been scarce, making it difficult to understand how they adapted from aquatic ancestors to land dwellers.
- Researchers studying fossils from Wisconsin discovered a new species of myriapods from the early Silurian period, around 437 million years ago, showing they had features suited for terrestrial life before fully leaving the water.
- The findings, published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, suggest myriapods had evolutionary advantages that helped them thrive on land earlier than previously thought.
- These fossils were found in a quarry near Milwaukee, an area that was once a warm coastline inhabited by diverse ancient marine and early terrestrial species.
