50 years ago, trilobite eyes mesmerized scientists

Excerpt from the February 2, 1974 issue of Science News

A photo of a trilobite fossil

Some trilobites had eyes with telescope-like lenses and that were filled with hundreds of miniature eyes.

Brigitte Schoenemann

cover of the February 2, 1974 issue of Science News

Trilobite eyes: An impressive feat of early evolution Science News, February 2, 1974

[Trilobites] possessed the most sophisticated eye lenses ever produced…. The lens structure does not correspond to any found in modern arthropods, as it developed when trilobites were already a separate stock and doomed to extinction…. Though the trilobites were lavished by nature with this great optical gift, there is no way to know whether the trilobites made full use of it.