Vision first evolved during the Cambrian explosion
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.
The retrieved papers consistently support the claim that vision first evolved or underwent a massive evolutionary radiation during the Cambrian explosion, with several explicitly pointing to Parker's hypothesis that the evolution of vision helped drive this pivotal biological event.
J. D. Holmes. Contrasting patterns of disparity suggest differing constraints on the evolution of trilobite cephalic structures during the Cambrian ‘explosion’. 2023. https://doi.org/10.1111/pala.12647
Paper 0 discusses the rapid diversification of trilobite visual and structural features during the Cambrian explosion.
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Michael S Y Lee, James B Jago, Diego C García-Bellido, Gregory D Edgecombe, James G Gehling, John R Paterson. Modern optics in exceptionally preserved eyes of Early Cambrian arthropods from Australia.. 2011. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature10097
Paper 3 describes exceptionally preserved Early Cambrian arthropod eyes, noting that advanced vision helped drive the Cambrian explosion.
Michael A Crawford, C Leigh Broadhurst, Martin Guest, Atulya Nagar, Yiqun Wang, Kebreab Ghebremeskel, Walter F Schmidt. A quantum theory for the irreplaceable role of docosahexaenoic acid in neural cell signalling throughout evolution.. 2013. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.plefa.2012.08.005
Paper 5 notes that the Cambrian explosion marked the onset of dominant aerobic life, providing the docosahexaenoic acid necessary for photoreceptors and neural evolution.
Carlos E Alvarez. On the origins of arrestin and rhodopsin.. 2008. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2148-8-222
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.
Wayne I L Davies, Shaun P Collin, David M Hunt. Molecular ecology and adaptation of visual photopigments in craniates.. 2012. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-294X.2012.05617.x
Paper 8 discusses how early photopigments arose in agnathans to sample light in aquatic landscapes during the Early Cambrian.
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