First land animals saw world in colour

[Dann Pigdon <dannj@alphalink.com.au>]

First land animals saw world in colour
Anna Salleh, ABC Science Online 

The first creature to crawl out of the water probably had a technicolour 
view of the land, say Australian researchers. 

Professor Shaun Collin and colleagues at the University of Queensland report 
their findings today in the journal BMC Evolutionary Biology... 

...The researchers sequenced the gene responsible for opsin, the visual 
pigment in the photoreceptor cells of the lungfish retina. 

They found all five photoreceptor genes that occur in various combinations 
in higher vertebrates. 

These genes code for rods and cones, which enable the lungfish to see 
ultraviolet and visible light, both of which are useful in seeing prey... 

Read more at:
http://www.abc.net.au/science/news/stories/2007/2068974.htm 

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Dann Pigdon
GIS / Archaeologist              geo cities.com/dannsdinosaurs
Melbourne, Australia             heretichides.soffiles.com
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