Fossil of the oldest millipedes in the world found in Scotland
In Scotland, found the fossil of the oldest millipedes in the world - it is 425 million years old. According to scientists from the University of Texas at Austin, this is the oldest arthropod found on Earth.
The centipede fossil, which is 425 million years old, has been found on the Scottish island of Kerrera. The find provides new data on the origin and development of insects and plants. Now it became clear that they evolved much faster than some scientists thought. The transition from local communities to complex forest ecosystems took place in just 40 million years.
“It's a big leap from these tiny “guys” to very complex forest communities, and it didn't take that long,” says Michael Brookfield, a fellow at Jackson's School of Geophysical Research at Austin University. “It seems that the rapid course of evolution first started from the mountain valleys, then descended to the lowlands, after which it already spread throughout the world.”
True, the centipede age from Scotland turned out to be 75 million years less than the age that scientists assigned to it using the molecular clock dating method.
The centipede fossil, which is 425 million years old, has been found on the Scottish island of Kerrera. The find provides new data on the origin and development of insects and plants. Now it became clear that they evolved much faster than some scientists thought. The transition from local communities to complex forest ecosystems took place in just 40 million years.
“It's a big leap from these tiny “guys” to very complex forest communities, and it didn't take that long,” says Michael Brookfield, a fellow at Jackson's School of Geophysical Research at Austin University. “It seems that the rapid course of evolution first started from the mountain valleys, then descended to the lowlands, after which it already spread throughout the world.”
True, the centipede age from Scotland turned out to be 75 million years less than the age that scientists assigned to it using the molecular clock dating method.
