Media Release, Research Story, Sciences |
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New fossils provide evidence of powerful eyes |
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Thursday, 30 June 2011 | |
Palaeontologists have uncovered half-a-billion-year-old fossils demonstrating that primitive animals had excellent vision. An international team led by scientists from the South Australian Museum [1] and the University of Adelaide found the exquisite fossils, which look like squashed eyes from a recently swatted fly. This discovery will be published today in the prestigious journal Nature [2]. The lead author is Associate Professor Michael Lee [3] from the South Australian Museum and the University of Adelaide's School of Earth & Environmental Sciences [4]. Compound Eyes Evolutionary Advantage Their discovery reveals that some of the earliest animals possessed very powerful vision; similar eyes are found in many living insects, such as robber flies. Sharp vision must therefore have evolved very rapidly, soon after the first predators appeared during the 'Cambrian Explosion' of life that began around 540 million years ago. Given the tremendous adaptive advantage conferred by sharp vision for avoiding predators and locating food and shelter, there must have been tremendous evolutionary pressure to elaborate and refine visual organs. Who owned them? More pixels: more chance of survival Authors: Dr Michael Lee (South Australian Museum and University of Adelaide - School of Earth & Environmental Sciences), with Dr John Paterson (University of New England), Dr Jim Jago (South Australian Museum and UniSA), Dr Diego Garcia-Bellido (Instituto de Geología Económica, Madrid), Dr Greg Edgecombe (Natural History Museum, London), and Dr Jim Gehling (South Australian Museum). To see a video on YouTube of this fossil being explored in 3-D, go to: http://youtu.be/WQE3x8zp3jc | |
Mr David Ellis Email: david.ellis@adelaide.edu.au [5] Website: https://www.adelaide.edu.au/newsroom/ Deputy Director, Media and Corporate Relations External Relations The University of Adelaide Business: +61 8 8313 5414 Mobile: +61 (0)421 612 762 | [6] |