Effects of prehistoric nocturnal life on mammalian vision
Since the age of dinosaurs, most species of day-active mammals have
retained the imprint of nocturnal life in their eye structures. Humans
and other anthropoid primates, such as monkeys and apes, are the only
groups that deviate from this pattern, according to a new study from The
University of Texas at Austin and Midwestern University.
T
he
findings, published in a forthcoming issue of Proceedings of the Royal
Society B, are the first to provide a large-scale body of evidence for
the "nocturnal bottleneck theory," which suggests that mammalian sensory
traits have been profoundly influenced by an extended period of
adaptation to nocturnality during the Mesozoic Era. This period lasted
from 250 million years ago to 65 million years ago.
To survive
in the night, mammals had a host of visual capabilities, such as good
color vision and high acuity, which were lost as they passed through the
nocturnal "bottleneck."
"The fact that nearly all living
mammals have eye shapes that appear 'nocturnal' by comparison with other
amniotes [mammals, reptiles and birds] is a testament to the strong
influence that evolutionary history can have on modern anatomy," says
Chris Kirk, associate professor of anthropology at The University of
Texas at Austin.
According to Kirk, early mammals were
predominantly nocturnal during the Mesozoic partly as a strategy for
avoiding predation by day-active dinosaurs.
http://machineslikeus.com/
Effects of prehistoric nocturnal life on mammalian vision
Since the age of dinosaurs, most species of day-active mammals have retained the imprint of nocturnal life in their eye structures. Humans and other anthropoid primates, such as monkeys and apes, are the only groups that deviate from this pattern, according to a new study from The University of Texas at Austin and Midwestern University.
T
Since the age of dinosaurs, most species of day-active mammals have retained the imprint of nocturnal life in their eye structures. Humans and other anthropoid primates, such as monkeys and apes, are the only groups that deviate from this pattern, according to a new study from The University of Texas at Austin and Midwestern University.
T
he
findings, published in a forthcoming issue of Proceedings of the Royal
Society B, are the first to provide a large-scale body of evidence for
the "nocturnal bottleneck theory," which suggests that mammalian sensory
traits have been profoundly influenced by an extended period of
adaptation to nocturnality during the Mesozoic Era. This period lasted
from 250 million years ago to 65 million years ago.
To survive in the night, mammals had a host of visual capabilities, such as good color vision and high acuity, which were lost as they passed through the nocturnal "bottleneck."
"The fact that nearly all living mammals have eye shapes that appear 'nocturnal' by comparison with other amniotes [mammals, reptiles and birds] is a testament to the strong influence that evolutionary history can have on modern anatomy," says Chris Kirk, associate professor of anthropology at The University of Texas at Austin.
According to Kirk, early mammals were predominantly nocturnal during the Mesozoic partly as a strategy for avoiding predation by day-active dinosaurs.
http://machineslikeus.com/
To survive in the night, mammals had a host of visual capabilities, such as good color vision and high acuity, which were lost as they passed through the nocturnal "bottleneck."
"The fact that nearly all living mammals have eye shapes that appear 'nocturnal' by comparison with other amniotes [mammals, reptiles and birds] is a testament to the strong influence that evolutionary history can have on modern anatomy," says Chris Kirk, associate professor of anthropology at The University of Texas at Austin.
According to Kirk, early mammals were predominantly nocturnal during the Mesozoic partly as a strategy for avoiding predation by day-active dinosaurs.
http://machineslikeus.com/
![Effects of prehistoric nocturnal life on mammalian vision
Since the age of dinosaurs, most species of day-active mammals have retained the imprint of nocturnal life in their eye structures. Humans and other anthropoid primates, such as monkeys and apes, are the only groups that deviate from this pattern, according to a new study from The University of Texas at Austin and Midwestern University.
The findings, published in a forthcoming issue of Proceedings of the Royal Society B, are the first to provide a large-scale body of evidence for the "nocturnal bottleneck theory," which suggests that mammalian sensory traits have been profoundly influenced by an extended period of adaptation to nocturnality during the Mesozoic Era. This period lasted from 250 million years ago to 65 million years ago.
To survive in the night, mammals had a host of visual capabilities, such as good color vision and high acuity, which were lost as they passed through the nocturnal "bottleneck."
"The fact that nearly all living mammals have eye shapes that appear 'nocturnal' by comparison with other amniotes [mammals, reptiles and birds] is a testament to the strong influence that evolutionary history can have on modern anatomy," says Chris Kirk, associate professor of anthropology at The University of Texas at Austin.
According to Kirk, early mammals were predominantly nocturnal during the Mesozoic partly as a strategy for avoiding predation by day-active dinosaurs.
http://machineslikeus.com/news/effects-prehistoric-nocturnal-life-mammalian-vision](http://sphotos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/s480x480/23952_383151155093267_1085735826_n.jpg)
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