Insights into a 429-million-year-old compound eye

Abstract In all arthropods the plesiomorphic (ancestral character state) kind of visual system commonly is considered to be the compound eye. Here we are able to show the excellently preserved internal structures of the compound eye of a 429 Mya old Silurian trilobite, Aulacopleura koninckii (Barran...

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Autores principales:	Brigitte Schoenemann, Euan N. K. Clarkson
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Nature Portfolio 2020
Materias:	Medicine R Science Q
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/f99530a6b715468d9c348c9bcaa21efb
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:f99530a6b715468d9c348c9bcaa21efb2021-12-02T18:50:59ZInsights into a 429-million-year-old compound eye10.1038/s41598-020-69219-02045-2322https://doaj.org/article/f99530a6b715468d9c348c9bcaa21efb2020-08-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-69219-0https://doaj.org/toc/2045-2322Abstract In all arthropods the plesiomorphic (ancestral character state) kind of visual system commonly is considered to be the compound eye. Here we are able to show the excellently preserved internal structures of the compound eye of a 429 Mya old Silurian trilobite, Aulacopleura koninckii (Barrande, 1846). It shows the characteristic elements of a modern apposition eye, consisting of 8 (visible) receptor cells, a rhabdom, a thick lens, screening pigment (cells), and in contrast to a modern type, putatively just a very thin crystalline cone. Functionally the latter underlines the idea of a primarily calcitic character of the lens because of its high refractive properties. Perhaps the trilobite was translucent. We show that this Palaeozoic trilobite in principle was equipped with a fully modern type of visual system, a compound eye comparable to that of living bees, dragonflies and many diurnal crustaceans. It is an example of excellent preservation, and we hope that this manuscript will be a starting point for more research work on fossil evidence, and to develop a deeper understanding of the evolution of vision.Brigitte SchoenemannEuan N. K. ClarksonNature PortfolioarticleMedicineRScienceQENScientific Reports, Vol 10, Iss 1, Pp 1-8 (2020)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Medicine R Science Q
spellingShingle	Medicine R Science Q Brigitte Schoenemann Euan N. K. Clarkson Insights into a 429-million-year-old compound eye
description	Abstract In all arthropods the plesiomorphic (ancestral character state) kind of visual system commonly is considered to be the compound eye. Here we are able to show the excellently preserved internal structures of the compound eye of a 429 Mya old Silurian trilobite, Aulacopleura koninckii (Barrande, 1846). It shows the characteristic elements of a modern apposition eye, consisting of 8 (visible) receptor cells, a rhabdom, a thick lens, screening pigment (cells), and in contrast to a modern type, putatively just a very thin crystalline cone. Functionally the latter underlines the idea of a primarily calcitic character of the lens because of its high refractive properties. Perhaps the trilobite was translucent. We show that this Palaeozoic trilobite in principle was equipped with a fully modern type of visual system, a compound eye comparable to that of living bees, dragonflies and many diurnal crustaceans. It is an example of excellent preservation, and we hope that this manuscript will be a starting point for more research work on fossil evidence, and to develop a deeper understanding of the evolution of vision.
format	article
author	Brigitte Schoenemann Euan N. K. Clarkson
author_facet	Brigitte Schoenemann Euan N. K. Clarkson
author_sort	Brigitte Schoenemann
title	Insights into a 429-million-year-old compound eye
title_short	Insights into a 429-million-year-old compound eye
title_full	Insights into a 429-million-year-old compound eye
title_fullStr	Insights into a 429-million-year-old compound eye
title_full_unstemmed	Insights into a 429-million-year-old compound eye
title_sort	insights into a 429-million-year-old compound eye
publisher	Nature Portfolio
publishDate	2020
url	https://doaj.org/article/f99530a6b715468d9c348c9bcaa21efb
work_keys_str_mv	AT brigitteschoenemann insightsintoa429millionyearoldcompoundeye AT euannkclarkson insightsintoa429millionyearoldcompoundeye
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Insights into a 429-million-year-old compound eye

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