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A pessimistic estimate of the time required for an eye to evolve.

Nilsson, Dan-E LU and Pelger, Susanne LU orcid (1994) In Royal Society of London. Proceedings B. Biological Sciences 256(1345). p.53-58
Abstract
Theoretical considerations of eye design allow us to find routes along which the optical structures of eyes may have evolved. If selection constantly favours an increase in the amount of detectable spatial information, a light-sensitive patch will gradually turn into a focused lens eye through continuous small improvements of design. An upper limit for the number of generations required for the complete transformation can be calculated with a minimum of assumptions. Even with a consistently pessimistic approach the time required becomes amazingly short: only a few hundred thousand years.
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
evolution, Eye
in
Royal Society of London. Proceedings B. Biological Sciences
volume
256
issue
1345
pages
53 - 58
publisher
Royal Society Publishing
external identifiers
  • scopus:0028256455
ISSN
1471-2954
DOI
10.1098/rspb.1994.0048
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
4f01be8a-00b7-4b60-a3f8-156d89dfee3e (old id 1728468)
date added to LUP
2016-04-04 11:13:07
date last changed
2024-08-19 03:17:57
@article{4f01be8a-00b7-4b60-a3f8-156d89dfee3e,
  abstract     = {{Theoretical considerations of eye design allow us to find routes along which the optical structures of eyes may have evolved. If selection constantly favours an increase in the amount of detectable spatial information, a light-sensitive patch will gradually turn into a focused lens eye through continuous small improvements of design. An upper limit for the number of generations required for the complete transformation can be calculated with a minimum of assumptions. Even with a consistently pessimistic approach the time required becomes amazingly short: only a few hundred thousand years.}},
  author       = {{Nilsson, Dan-E and Pelger, Susanne}},
  issn         = {{1471-2954}},
  keywords     = {{evolution; Eye}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{1345}},
  pages        = {{53--58}},
  publisher    = {{Royal Society Publishing}},
  series       = {{Royal Society of London. Proceedings B. Biological Sciences}},
  title        = {{A pessimistic estimate of the time required for an eye to evolve.}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.1994.0048}},
  doi          = {{10.1098/rspb.1994.0048}},
  volume       = {{256}},
  year         = {{1994}},
}