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Ancient sea fossils indicate millipede and centipede ancestors evolved their legs while still underwater

Phys · · 746 words · By Krystal Kasal

The article reports on the discovery of Waukartus muscularis, an aquatic arthropod fossil found in Wisconsin. The findings suggest that ancestors of myriapods evolved single-branched legs while still living in marine environments, challenging the previous assumption that such limbs were an adaptation for land life.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://phys.org/news/2026-05-ancient-sea-fossils-millipede-centipede.html

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Low risk. This article shows minimal use of propaganda techniques.

fact_checkFact-Check Results

14 claims extracted and verified against multiple sources including cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia.

check_circle Corroborated 5
schedule Pending 4
info Single Source 2
help Insufficient Evidence 2
verified Verified By Reference 1
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“fossils found in the Silurian Brandon Bridge Formation in Waukesha, Wisconsin have revealed that a long-lost ancestor of myriapods already had many unbranched legs while still living underwater”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources confirm the Brandon Bridge Formation in Waukesha, Wisconsin, as a site for early Silurian fossils, and the specific claim about myriapod ancestors is supported by the 'How Ancient Centipede Ancestors Conquered the Earth' source.
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web search NEUTRAL — The Waukesha Biota is an important fossil site located in Waukesha County and Franklin, Milwaukee County within the state of Wisconsin. This biota is preserved in certain strata within the Brandon Bri…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waukesha_Biota
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web search NEUTRAL — A long-neglected fossil seems to show the evolutionary leap that let the ancestors of today’s many-legged arthropods crawl forth from the seas.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/05/science/ancient-centipede…
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web search NEUTRAL — Chapter II addresses preservation of Fossil Konservat Lagerstatten, utilizing Lagerstatte from the Brandon Bridge strata (late Llandovery-early Wenlock) at Waukesha, Wisconsin.
https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/items/22555
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“The finding, described in a new study published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, contradicts the idea that this particular type of limb was an adaptation for land.”
CORROBORATED
The claim is directly mirrored in the web search result 'Ancient sea fossils indicate millipede and centipede ancestors evolved...', which explicitly mentions the study in Proceedings of the Royal Society B and the contradiction regarding land adaptation.
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web search NEUTRAL — The arthropod leg is a form of jointed appendage of arthropods, usually used for walking. Many of the terms used for arthropod leg segments (called podomeres) are of Latin origin, and may be confused …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthropod_leg
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web search NEUTRAL — The finding, described in a new study published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, contradicts the idea that this particular type of limb was an adaptation for land.
https://phys.org/news/2026-05-ancient-sea-fossils-millipede-…
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web search NEUTRAL — The Royal Society's flagship biological research journal dedicated to the fast publication and worldwide dissemination of high-quality research.
https://royalsocietypublishing.org/RSPB
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“Paleontologists discovered 35 fossils of a myriapod-like arthropod in Waukesha's Silurian Brandon Bridge Formation dating from around 437 million years ago.”
CORROBORATED
The date (437 million years ago) and location (Brandon Bridge Formation, Wisconsin) are confirmed by both the 'How Ancient Centipede Ancestors Conquered the Earth' source and the 'Brandon Bridge Formation' search result.
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web search NEUTRAL — The Waukesha Biota is an important fossil site located in Waukesha County and Franklin, Milwaukee County within the state of Wisconsin. This biota is preserved in certain strata within the Brandon Bri…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waukesha_Biota
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web search NEUTRAL — During the early Silurian period around 437 million years ago, this area of Wisconsin was a balmy coastline near the Equator, inhabited by trilobites, jawless vertebrates, the earliest known leeches a…
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/05/science/ancient-centipede…
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web search NEUTRAL — The Brandon Bridge Formation is assigned to the early Silurian, corresponding to the Llandovery epoch and specifically the Telychian stage, with an age of approximately 437 million years ago based on …
https://grokipedia.com/page/brandon_bridge_formation
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“The Silurian Brandon Bridge Formation is a geological formation known as the Waukesha Lagerstätte—an exceptional deposit of soft-bodied fossils from the Llandovery epoch.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
Wikipedia and other geological sources explicitly identify the Waukesha Biota as the Waukesha Lagerstätte within the Brandon Bridge Formation from the Llandovery epoch.
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web search NEUTRAL — The Waukesha Biota (also known as Waukesha Lagerstätte, Brandon Bridge Lagerstätte, or Brandon Bridge fauna) is an important fossil site located in Waukesha County and Franklin, Milwaukee County withi…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waukesha_Biota
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web search NEUTRAL — It is from the lower part of the Brandon Bridge Formation (Silurian: Llandovery, Telychian), better known as the Waukesha Lagerstätte.The soft-bodied nature of leeches also may contribute to the diffi…
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12495953/
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web search NEUTRAL — The Waukesha Quarry is famous for yielding the Waukesha Lagerstätte, a nice soft-bodied fossil deposit in fine-grained argillaceous dolostones of the Brandon Bridge Formation (Llandoverian, Lower Silu…
https://jsj-geology.net/Waukesha-Quarry.htm
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“The area's finely laminated dolomitic mudstones preserve a diverse, shallow marine community, including early arthropods.”
CORROBORATED
The description of finely laminated dolomitic mudstones preserving a shallow marine community including arthropods is confirmed by the CoLab source and Wikipedia.
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web search NEUTRAL — This biota is preserved in certain strata within the Brandon Bridge Formation, which dates to the early Silurian period. It is known for the exceptional preservation of soft-bodied organisms, includin…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waukesha_Biota
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web search NEUTRAL — Their exceptional preservation, in finely laminated dolomitic mudstones, was mediated by tidally‐influenced conditions and/or microbial entombment. Shelly biomineralized animals are rare, but soft‐bod…
https://colab.ws/articles/10.1111/gto.12447
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web search NEUTRAL — shallow-marine Lagerstätten, such as the Waukesha Lagerstätte, and suggests that the. Eramosa is not the product of exceptional preservation in an atypical environment, a bias. claimed for many post-C…
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/253269085_Eramosa_L…
info
“The new arthropod, called Waukartus muscularis, resembles modern myriapods with a head and long segmented body featuring many sets of legs.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The name 'Waukartus muscularis' and its description appear in the 'How Ancient Centipede Ancestors Conquered the Earth' source, but other provided search results are general arthropod descriptions and do not specifically mention this species.
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web search NEUTRAL — This document provides an overview of arthropods, which account for over three quarters of all known animal species. It discusses their key defining characteristics, including bilateral symmetry, segm…
https://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/phylum-arthropoda-41750…
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web search NEUTRAL — Flattened body with longer legs for fast movement. Have 1 pair of legs per body segment. Predators. Mandibles & maxilla for chewing prey (insects & earthworms). Claw-like appendages or pincers on 1st …
https://biologyjunction.com/arthropod-notes-b1/
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web search NEUTRAL — A centipede is an arthropod with a flat body and many legs. hear cockroach.A scorpion is an arachnid of warm dry regions with a long segmented tail ending in a venomous stinger.
https://www.spellzone.com/word_lists/list-27.htm
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“Many of the fossils were well-preserved, with evidence of uniramous, or single-branched, limbs, muscle tissue, and a cuticular endoskeleton.”
SINGLE SOURCE
While general sources describe cuticular endoskeletons and muscle tissue in arthropods, the specific application to Waukartus muscularis is only found in the context of the specific study/article mentioned in the evidence chain.
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web search NEUTRAL — i. Chitin: It is the main constituent of cuticle, which is Nitrogenous polysacharide and polymer of N- acetylglucosamine. It is water insoluble but soluble in dilute acids, alkalies and organic solven…
https://www.agrostudy.in/2021/10/structure-and-functions-of-…
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web search NEUTRAL — Composition of cuticle i.Chitin: It is the main constituent of cuticle, which is Nitrogenous polysacharide and polymer of N-acetylglucosamine.Cuticular in growth of body wall providing space for muscl…
http://www.eagri.org/eagri50/ENTO231/lec04.pdf
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web search NEUTRAL — Dr Andy Galpin, PhD, is Professor of Kinesiology (the study of movement) at California State University, Fullerton. He is the Co-Director of the Center for S...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQ78Hpwrt80
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“among the fossils there is no evidence for less than 11 segments in Waukartus muscularis.”
CORROBORATED
The 'How Ancient Centipede Ancestors Conquered the Earth' source explicitly states the body was composed of 11 segments.
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web search NEUTRAL — The tract is one of the largest of the body's systems. The GI tract contains all the major organs of the digestive system, in humans and other animals, including the esophagus, stomach, and intestines…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gastrointestinal_tract
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web search NEUTRAL — Police say at least 11 people were killed - as a doctor tells the BBC protesters taken to hospital died of gunshot wounds.At least eleven people have been killed during anti-government protests in Ken…
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c78n397gzjpo
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web search NEUTRAL — The researchers named the new species Waukartus muscularis. The ancient arthropod’s flexible body was composed of 11 segments and a backside ending in a pair of mysterious, blade-shaped structures.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/05/science/ancient-centipede…
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“It also features multiple "head appendages," which increase in size toward the rear of the head.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was provided in the search results regarding the specific head appendages of Waukartus muscularis.
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“The team found that Waukartus fits just outside the crown group of myriapods, which requires at least 17 pairs of limbs.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was provided in the search results regarding the phylogenetic position of Waukartus relative to the crown group of myriapods or the 17-pair limb requirement.
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“Another close relative, euthycarcinoids, had been identified in another study as stem-group myriapods, and were found to be an unusual group of aquatic, or potentially amphibious, arthropods.”
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“Waukartus, however, sits just stemward of euthycarcinoids and living myriapods”
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“Waukartus appears to have been aquatic, while possessing uniramous appendages instead of branched limbs, called exopods, which are common in aquatic arthropods.”
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“The loss of exopods is also evident in euthycarcinoids and in the aquatic sister group to arachnids”
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info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.