Excerpt from the linked summary:^1

>Trilobites, prehistoric sea creatures, had so-called median eyes, single eyes on their foreheads, in addition to their compound eyes, research conducted by Dr Brigitte Schoenemann at the University of Cologne’s Institute of Zoology and Professor Dr Euan Clarkson at the University of Edinburgh has now found out.

>Such single eyes are found in all arthropods and also in many relatives of the extinct trilobites. They are usually small cup eyes (ocelli), sometimes even equipped with lenses, and not unlike human eyes.

>Schoenemann and Clarkson examined a specimen of the trilobite Aulacopleura koninckii in which part of the head had been scraped off.

>They found three almost identically shaped dark, inconspicuous and tiny oval spots of the same size at the front of the head. These three structures are parallel to each other and fan out slightly on the underside.

>All three spots are characterized by a smooth, clear outline and a uniform, dark brownish colour.

> 

>In the trilobite Cyclopyge sibilla, which lived in the free ocean, the researchers also found three cup-shaped median eyes on the so-called glabella, the region in the middle of the forehead between the large compound eyes, which even apparently had a lens not unsimilar to human eyes, and were thus clearly more differentiated and probably much more efficient than those of the bottom-dwelling trilobite Aulacopleura.

>In their article, the researchers also consider why the median eyes of trilobites have escaped detection until now: “These eyes are present in trilobites at the larval stage, but lie beneath what is probably a thin, transparent carapace (cuticle), which becomes opaque during fossilisation.

>Both explain why they have remained undiscovered until now,” she added. Thus, the researchers have solved the mystery of missing middle eyes in trilobites.

^1 New eyes discovered in trilobites, 17 Mar. 2023, https://portal.uni-koeln.de/en/universitaet/aktuell/press-releases/single-news/new-eyes-discovered-in-trilobites

^2 Schoenemann, B., Clarkson, E.N.K. The median eyes of trilobites. Scientific Reports 13, 3917 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-31089-7

The double negative is irritating

Not unlike. So not not like? Or not not not unlike?

It’s an odd coincidence that I looked up the spelling of trilobites today. But that strange concurrence happens too often to be entirely happenstance.

Welcome to r/science! This is a heavily moderated subreddit in order to keep the discussion on science. However, we recognize that many people want to discuss how they feel the research relates to their own personal lives, so to give people a space to do that, personal anecdotes are allowed as responses to this comment. Any anecdotal comments elsewhere in the discussion will be removed and our normal comment rules apply to all other comments.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

[removed]

[removed]

[removed]

Their bodies, backs, hands, wings, and wheels were covered with eyes.

DO NOT BE AFRAID

[removed]

Were Trilobites the first creautres to evolve eyes?