Vision first evolved during the Cambrian explosion
the verdict
SUPPORTED
the evidence backs this
confidence 82/100
Multiple studies of the fossil record and molecular evolution confirm that complex vision systems and related photopigments rapidly emerged and diversified during the Cambrian explosion.
Evidence for · 5
Contrasting patterns of disparity suggest differing constraints on the evolution of trilobite cephalic structures during the Cambrian ‘explosion’
2023 · cited by 10
Paper 0 discusses the rapid diversification of trilobite visual and structural features during the Cambrian explosion.
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More for · 4
Modern optics in exceptionally preserved eyes of Early Cambrian arthropods from Australia.
2011 · cited by 0
Paper 3 describes exceptionally preserved Early Cambrian arthropod eyes, noting that advanced vision helped drive the Cambrian explosion.
A quantum theory for the irreplaceable role of docosahexaenoic acid in neural cell signalling throughout evolution.
2013 · cited by 0
Paper 5 notes that the Cambrian explosion marked the onset of dominant aerobic life, providing the docosahexaenoic acid necessary for photoreceptors and neural evolution.
On the origins of arrestin and rhodopsin.
2008 · cited by 0
Paper 6 links the origin of visual proteins like opsins to the time period of the Cambrian explosion, supporting the theory that vision triggered this radiation.
Molecular ecology and adaptation of visual photopigments in craniates.
2012 · cited by 0
Paper 8 discusses how early photopigments arose in agnathans to sample light in aquatic landscapes during the Early Cambrian.