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marketrent OP t1_jd7422n wrote

Excerpt from the linked summary:^1

>Trilobites, prehistoric sea creatures, had so-called median eyes, single eyes on their foreheads, in addition to their compound eyes, research conducted by Dr Brigitte Schoenemann at the University of Cologne’s Institute of Zoology and Professor Dr Euan Clarkson at the University of Edinburgh has now found out.

>Such single eyes are found in all arthropods and also in many relatives of the extinct trilobites. They are usually small cup eyes (ocelli), sometimes even equipped with lenses, and not unlike human eyes.

>Schoenemann and Clarkson examined a specimen of the trilobite Aulacopleura koninckii in which part of the head had been scraped off.

>They found three almost identically shaped dark, inconspicuous and tiny oval spots of the same size at the front of the head. These three structures are parallel to each other and fan out slightly on the underside.

>All three spots are characterized by a smooth, clear outline and a uniform, dark brownish colour.

> 

>In the trilobite Cyclopyge sibilla, which lived in the free ocean, the researchers also found three cup-shaped median eyes on the so-called glabella, the region in the middle of the forehead between the large compound eyes, which even apparently had a lens not unsimilar to human eyes, and were thus clearly more differentiated and probably much more efficient than those of the bottom-dwelling trilobite Aulacopleura.

>In their article, the researchers also consider why the median eyes of trilobites have escaped detection until now: “These eyes are present in trilobites at the larval stage, but lie beneath what is probably a thin, transparent carapace (cuticle), which becomes opaque during fossilisation.

>Both explain why they have remained undiscovered until now,” she added. Thus, the researchers have solved the mystery of missing middle eyes in trilobites.

^1 New eyes discovered in trilobites, 17 Mar. 2023, https://portal.uni-koeln.de/en/universitaet/aktuell/press-releases/single-news/new-eyes-discovered-in-trilobites

^2 Schoenemann, B., Clarkson, E.N.K. The median eyes of trilobites. Scientific Reports 13, 3917 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-31089-7

23

two_fish t1_jd8242z wrote

The double negative is irritating

17

protonfish t1_jd89xg6 wrote

Replying to two_fish (#2,303,980)

I find "human eyes" more irritating. Why not "vertebrate eyes?" Even mollusks like scallops and cephalopods have lensed simple (non-compound) eyes. Saying they are like human eyes is nonsense.

24

Blaataapernie t1_jd8uli8 wrote

Not unlike. So not not like? Or not not not unlike?

4

NewHampshireAngle t1_jd96xh5 wrote

It’s an odd coincidence that I looked up the spelling of trilobites today. But that strange concurrence happens too often to be entirely happenstance.

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RumoredReality t1_jdaxdvz wrote

Their bodies, backs, hands, wings, and wheels were covered with eyes.

DO NOT BE AFRAID

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Wipedout89 t1_jdb6pcr wrote

Replying to two_fish (#2,303,980)

Nothing wrong with not unlike. It means they aren't exactly the same, but there are a few similarities. Not unlike is a far easier way of saying ' that share some similarities to'

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Vali32 t1_jdcg6br wrote

Were Trilobites the first creautres to evolve eyes?

1