Interactive Sankey diagram showing how vision evolved independently 40+ times
Legend
Optical Principles
Biological Origins
Eye Structures
Specialized Features
Visual Capabilities
About Vision Evolution
Vision has evolved independently at least 40 times throughout biological history. This diagram shows
the major vision system types and how they converged on similar information processing capabilities
through radically different assembly architectures.
Compound eyes: Multiple optical units (ommatidia)
Camera eyes: Single lens systems in vertebrates and cephalopods
Mirror eyes: Concave mirrors using crystalline platelets
Digital vision: Electronic sensors and computer processing