A 390 million-year-old hyper-compound eye in Devonian phacopid trilobites
Abstract Trilobites, extinct arthropods that dominated the faunas of the Palaeozoic, since their appearance c 523 million years ago, were equipped with elaborate compound eyes. While most of them possessed apposition compound eyes (in trilobites called holochroal eyes), comparable to the compound ey...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2021-09-01
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| Series: | Scientific Reports |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-98740-z |
| _version_ | 1818691911692582912 |
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| author | B. Schoenemann E. N. K. Clarkson C. Bartels W. Südkamp G. E. Rössner U. Ryck |
| author_facet | B. Schoenemann E. N. K. Clarkson C. Bartels W. Südkamp G. E. Rössner U. Ryck |
| author_sort | B. Schoenemann |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Trilobites, extinct arthropods that dominated the faunas of the Palaeozoic, since their appearance c 523 million years ago, were equipped with elaborate compound eyes. While most of them possessed apposition compound eyes (in trilobites called holochroal eyes), comparable to the compound eyes of many diurnal crustaceans and insects living today, trilobites of the suborder Phacopina developed atypical large eyes with wide lenses and wide interspaces in between (schizochroal eyes). Here, we show that these compound eyes are highly sophisticated systems—hyper-compound eyes hiding an individual compound eye below each of the big lenses. Thus, each of the phacopid compound eyes comprises several tens, in cases even hundreds of small compound eye systems composing a single visual surface. We discuss their development, phylogenetic position of this hyper-compound eye, and its neuronal infrastructure. A hyper-compound eye in this form is unique in the animal realm. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-17T12:49:25Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-c54a964bdef04d7c9fae486e0bcfe27a |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2045-2322 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-17T12:49:25Z |
| publishDate | 2021-09-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Scientific Reports |
| spelling | doaj.art-c54a964bdef04d7c9fae486e0bcfe27a2022-12-21T21:47:39ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222021-09-0111111010.1038/s41598-021-98740-zA 390 million-year-old hyper-compound eye in Devonian phacopid trilobitesB. Schoenemann0E. N. K. Clarkson1C. BartelsW. SüdkampG. E. Rössner2U. RyckDepartment of Zoology, Neurobiology/Animal Physiology and Biology Education, University of CologneGrant Institute, School of Geosciences, University of EdinburghBayerische Staatssammlung für Paläontologie und GeologieAbstract Trilobites, extinct arthropods that dominated the faunas of the Palaeozoic, since their appearance c 523 million years ago, were equipped with elaborate compound eyes. While most of them possessed apposition compound eyes (in trilobites called holochroal eyes), comparable to the compound eyes of many diurnal crustaceans and insects living today, trilobites of the suborder Phacopina developed atypical large eyes with wide lenses and wide interspaces in between (schizochroal eyes). Here, we show that these compound eyes are highly sophisticated systems—hyper-compound eyes hiding an individual compound eye below each of the big lenses. Thus, each of the phacopid compound eyes comprises several tens, in cases even hundreds of small compound eye systems composing a single visual surface. We discuss their development, phylogenetic position of this hyper-compound eye, and its neuronal infrastructure. A hyper-compound eye in this form is unique in the animal realm.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-98740-z |
| spellingShingle | B. Schoenemann E. N. K. Clarkson C. Bartels W. Südkamp G. E. Rössner U. Ryck A 390 million-year-old hyper-compound eye in Devonian phacopid trilobites Scientific Reports |
| title | A 390 million-year-old hyper-compound eye in Devonian phacopid trilobites |
| title_full | A 390 million-year-old hyper-compound eye in Devonian phacopid trilobites |
| title_fullStr | A 390 million-year-old hyper-compound eye in Devonian phacopid trilobites |
| title_full_unstemmed | A 390 million-year-old hyper-compound eye in Devonian phacopid trilobites |
| title_short | A 390 million-year-old hyper-compound eye in Devonian phacopid trilobites |
| title_sort | 390 million year old hyper compound eye in devonian phacopid trilobites |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-98740-z |
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