Land animals in the silurian: arachnids and myriapods from shropshire, England.

The mitochondrial genome of the house centipede scutigera and the monophyly versus paraphyly of myriapods.

Recent advances in molecular phylogenetics are continuously changing our perception of the phylogenetic relationships among the main arthropod lineages: crustaceans, hexapods, chelicerates, and myriapods. Besides the intrinsic interest in unraveling the evolution of the largest animal phylum, these studies are basic to an understanding of one of the major transitions in animal evolution-i.e., t...

A U-Pb zircon age constraint on the oldest-recorded air-breathing land animal

The oldest-known air-breathing land animal is the millipede Pneumodesmus newmani, found in the Cowie Harbour Fish Bed at Stonehaven, Scotland. Here we report the youngest, most concordant 238U-206Pb zircon age from ash below the fish bed of 413.7±4.4 Ma (±2σ), whereas the youngest age from a tuffaceous sandstone above the fish bed is statistically indistinguishable at 414.3±7.1 Ma. The Cowie Ha...

Eoarthropleura ( Arthropoda , Arthropleurida ) from the Silurian of Britain and the Devonian of North America

Eoarthropleura, previously known only from the Lower Devonian of Germany, is reported here from the Upper Silurian (PHdoli) of Shropshire, England, the Upper Devonian (Frasnian) of New York State, USA, and the Lower Devonian (Emsian) of New Brunswick, Canada. The Shropshire form (E. ludfordensis n. sp.) is the earliest representative of the Arthropleurida. The New York species, originally ascri...

Arthropods: Mite Habitats, Minor Arachnids, and Myriapods

A molecular palaeobiological exploration of arthropod terrestrialization

Understanding animal terrestrialization, the process through which animals colonized the land, is crucial to clarify extant biodiversity and biological adaptation. Arthropoda (insects, spiders, centipedes and their allies) represent the largest majority of terrestrial biodiversity. Here we implemented a molecular palaeobiological approach, merging molecular and fossil evidence, to elucidate the...