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Science 9 March 1973:
Vol. 179. no. 4077, pp. 1007 - 1009
DOI: 10.1126/science.179.4077.1007
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Articles

Trilobite Eyes: Calcified Lenses in vivo

Kenneth M. Towe 1

1 Department of Paleobiology, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. 20560

The corneal lenses preserved in the eyes of some of the Paleozoic trilobites (Arthropoda) are constructed of calcite that is crystallographically oriented to behave like glass. The calcareous lenses are capable of forming inverted images over a large depth of field and must have been present in the living trilobites.


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
A Devonian Trilobite with an Eyeshade.
R. Fortey and B. Chatterton (2003)
Science 301, 1689
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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)