The international group of scientists has discovered the TriLobites of the Phacopina of the Devonian period, who lived 390 million years ago, the eye system unique in the animal world. These extinct creatures possessed hyperfastal eyes, where each of the 200 lenses consists of six facets forming “superlap”. This is reported in the article published in the Journal Scientific Reports.
Researchers made a discovery during the study of X-rays of the remains of trilobites. They revealed a structure that, in their opinion, is a local neural network, which directly processed visual information and nerve, bearing signals from the eye to the brain.
Most trilobites had complex eyes consisting of a large number of hexagonal faces. Eight photoreceptors are usually located under each facet. To create a connected image, the verge should be very close to each other and be associated with neurons. However, the trilobites of the PHACOPINAE sub-linear, visible lenses of complex eyes are much greater – to one millimeter in diameter and more. In addition, they are located on apart. Scientists could not explain such anatomy because there is a space where the light is lost.
In the new work, scientists offered a new interpretation – a supervised eye, consisting of two hundred millimeter lenses forming two hundred complex eyes. The nerve threads leading to the brain of the trilobit are departed from them. According to the researchers, the “superpower” of trilobite may have been evolutionary adaptation to life in low light conditions. It was much more sensitive to light than the usual eye of trilobit.