Permian Millipede

Permian

Rotliegendes

Rockenhausen, Germany

Extremely rare 8mm millipede on 33mm shale slab.

Arthropod.

Millipedes occur sporadically in the fossil record.  Today, they are rather delicate, drying out and breaking up into segments soon after death so it’s easy to see why they are rare fossils.

The earliest forms may date back to the Ordovician based on trace fossils but the earliest body fossils are known from the Late Silurian.

This specimen comes from a lesser-known locality – a piece for the oddball arthropod collector.