homehome Home chatchat Notifications


Primitive sea creature has eyes made of rock

  This weird armored mollusk is called a chiton, and scientists are amazed by it. They discovered eye-like structures on its body decades ago, but they had no idea what they were made of, if they could see or just sense light, or even if they were eyes at all, because they were structurally very […]

Mihai Andrei
April 15, 2011 @ 4:26 pm

share Share

CREDIT: Kirt L. Onthank

 

This weird armored mollusk is called a chiton, and scientists are amazed by it. They discovered eye-like structures on its body decades ago, but they had no idea what they were made of, if they could see or just sense light, or even if they were eyes at all, because they were structurally very different from everything we’ve encountered so far.

But as it turns out, its eyes (which are used to spot predators lurking aroud) are made of a calcium carbonate crystal, a substance that commonly makes the shells of other creatures such as snails, or the rocks of caves.

“Turns out they can see objects, though probably not well,” said study researcher Daniel Speiser, who recently became a postdoctoral fellow at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

In comparison to human vision, the chiton vision is about 1000 times weaker but hey – their eyes are made out of rock ! Another interesting fact is that although chitons have bee around for 500 million years, the oldest ones with eyes appeared 25 million years, which is relatively recent, and makes them among the latest animals which developed eyes.

Researchers believed they developed this kind of eyes to see and protect against predators, and they evolved in a way that allows them to see both above and underwater.

share Share

Wild Chimpanzees Use Medicine To Treat Each Other’s Wounds

Chimpanzees don’t just treat their own injuries, but care for others, too.

Meet Mosura fentoni, the Bug-Eyed Cambrian Weirdo with Three Eyes and Gills in Its Tail

Evolution went strong in this one.

3,700 Hours with Wild Chimps Reveal Evolutionary Roots of Attachment

This study is about chimps. But in a way, it's also about us.

How Some Flowers Evolved the Grossest Stench — and Why Flies Love It

Flowers keep making the same mutation time and time again.

This car-sized "millipede" was built like a tank — and had the face to go with it

A Carboniferous beast is showing its face.

Spruce Trees Are Like Real-Life Ents That Anticipate Solar Eclipse Hours in Advance and Sync Up

Trees sync their bioelectric signals like they're talking to each other.

This Bizarre Bacterium Conducts Electricity Like a Wire

Conducting electricity as a lifestyle.

Humans are really bad at healing. But that also helped us survive

It's a quirk tied to our thick skin, sweat glands, and sparse body hair.

The world’s largest wildlife crossing is under construction in LA, and it’s no less than a miracle

But we need more of these massive wildlife crossings.

The "Bone Collector" Caterpillar Disguises Itself With the Bodies of Its Victims and Lives in Spider Webs

This insect doesn't play with its food. It just wears it.