The origin and early evolution of arthropods

The rise of arthropods is a decisive event in the history of life. Likely the first animals to have established themselves on land and in the air, arthropods have pervaded nearly all ecosystems and have become pillars of the planet’s ecological networks. Forerunners of this epopee, exceptionally well-preserved Palaeozoic fossils recently discovered or re-discovered thanks to new approaches and techniques have elucidated the precocious appearance of extant lineages at the onset of the Cambrian explosion, and pointed to the critical role of the plankton and hard integuments in early arthropod diversification. Despite new interpretative challenges, phylogenetic advances based on palaeontological evidence open the prospect of finally using the full potential of the most diverse animal phylum to investigate macroevolutionary patterns and processes.