Third eye of trilobites: new research scientists open their eyes

Studies show that trilobites, which are extinct creatures, had a hidden third eye and sometimes a fourth or even a fifth eye. Previously, such a trait was believed to be inherent only in the larvae of this species, according to Live Science.

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Trilobites are extinct hard-shelled arthropods that lived underwater. It is interesting that ancient people made jewelry from them, as evidenced by the shells of these creatures found in the Trilobite Grotto (France). Brooches and necklaces were made from them.

According to a study by Kenneth Tove in the 1970s, scientists knew that trilobites had a pair of eyes that provided reasonably clear vision. But recently, scientists discovered a middle eye located in the middle of the forehead of trilobites. Before that, it was believed that such a feature is characteristic only of the larval stage of these animals. These eyes were under a layer of transparent shell that hardened and lost transparency during larval development. So the third eye was usually hidden.

But when the researchers examined the sample, which was missing part of the head, they noticed “small oval spots of the same size, dark, inconspicuous, on the front of the head.”

“This distinctive, ordered appearance distinguishes the structure from random formations from decay or fossilization and is consistent with the expected remnants of simple median eyes equipped with a pigmented layer,” says lead author Brigit Schonemann, assistant professor at the Institute of Zoology. University of Cologne in Germany. If this is a single finding, it supports the idea that trilobites originally had median eyes.”

At different stages of evolution, trilobites may have one or more, and in some cases even four, middle eyes.

Previously Focus He talked about an incredible 12-million-year-old fossil.

We also wrote about a saber-toothed marsupial predator finding its own way to adapt to hunting.