Close up of a fossilised trilobite head showing a compound schizochroal eye (right). The schizochroal eye is the equivalent of an achromatic doublet i

---

Close up of a fossilised trilobite head showing a compound schizochroal eye (right). The schizochroal eye is the equivalent of an achromatic doublet in modern optics, this means that each individual ommatidium is corrected for spherical and chromatic aberration, therefore making the image clearer. This Acaste downingiae trilobite is from the Silurian Period (443 to 419 million years ago) and was collected from the Wenlock Limestone quarries in Dudley, West Midlands, UK. The eye is about 6 millimetres in length.

---

Size: 5184px × 3456px
Photo credit: © SINCLAIR STAMMERS/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: -, acaste, animal, arthropod, close-, compound, detail, downingiae, extinct, eye, eyes, fauna, fossil, fossilised, fossilized, head, invertebrate, lens, lenses, limestone, marine, palaeontological, palaeontology, paleontological, paleontology, period, prehistoric, prehistory, preserved, rock, schizochroal, silurian, specimen, trilobite, wenlock, wildlife