Each of our eyes sees a slightly different view of the world, and our brain combines these signals into a single three-dimensional image. But this only works in one direction, because our eyes face straight ahead and their respective fields of vision only overlap in a narrow zone. But there was once a creature that had binocular vision in a massive arc around its body, not just in front but to the sides as well. It’s called Henningsmoenicaris scutula and it lived around half a billion years ago.

These eyes are compound ones, made up of several units or ‘ommatidia’. They’ve also withstood the test of time. Their organic tissues have since been converted into the mineral apatite, and the