A new study shows millipedes colonized land nearly 460 million years ago. The research completes the evolutionary tree for all living millipede orders. It was published in Current Biology in 2026.
An international team led by Virginia Tech researchers combined DNA from 82 species with 29 fossils to map millipede origins. The analysis places their emergence about 35 million years before the oldest known fossils.
Paul Marek, the study's lead investigator, said millipedes beat vertebrates onto land by more than 80 million years. He noted they fed on decaying mosses and slime in the absence of trees or flowering plants.
Researchers traveled to Mexico and the Canary Islands to collect two rare groups previously missing from genetic studies. Their DNA helped show that one group belongs within an existing lineage while the other now sits beside its closest relatives.
The tree also indicates chemical defenses evolved around 260 million years ago. The work was funded by the National Science Foundation and involved scientists from several institutions including the Field Museum and Universidad de La Laguna.