It is generally assumed that the soil environment played an important role in the evolution of life on land, as a transition medium between water and air. This idea was already formulated by M.S. Gilharov in 1949 but it has never been tested systematically against modern phylogenetic reconstructions from DNA data. In this paper I review the phylogenies of soil invertebrate lineages that have been published in the last decade, as a guide to test Ghilarov’s hypothesis. I propose to distinguish between major and minor terrestrializations and six different evolutionary scenarios. The various lineages of soil invertebrate (nematodes, tardigrades, crustaceans, apterygotes, insects, myriapods, chelicerates, flatworms, earthworms, potworms and snails) show different pathways of terrestrialization. Some lineages seem to have conquered the land directly from the marine environment, others through intermediate habitats (intertidal, caves and freshwater). The review illustrates that the study of soil invertebrates holds many promises for enriching evolutionary sciences.

人们普遍认为，土壤环境作为水和空气之间的过渡介质，在陆地生命的进化过程中发挥了重要作用。这个想法已经由 MS Gilharov 于 1949 年提出，但从未针对 DNA 数据的现代系统发育重建进行系统测试。在这篇论文中，我回顾了过去十年发表的土壤无脊椎动物谱系的系统发育，作为检验 Ghilarov 假设的指南。我建议区分主要和次要的陆地化和六种不同的进化场景。土壤无脊椎动物的各种谱系（线虫、缓步动物、甲壳类动物、无翅目动物、昆虫、多足动物、螯肢动物、扁虫、蚯蚓、蚯蚓和蜗牛）显示出不同的陆地化途径。有些世系似乎直接从海洋环境征服了陆地，有些则通过中间栖息地（潮间带、洞穴和淡水）。该评论表明，对土壤无脊椎动物的研究为丰富进化科学带来了许多希望。