Snake detection theory: Difference between revisions

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[[File:Vipera_aspis_aspis.jpg|thumb|alt=Vipera Aspis.| Vipera Aspis. According to the Snake Detection Hypothesis, venomous, life-threatening snakes were crucial for the evolution of primates' visual systems.]]

The '''snake detection theory''' (sometimesalso morecalled correctly referred to asthe '''snake detection hypothesis''')<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Isbell|first1=Lynne A.|title=Snakes as agents of evolutionary change in primate brains|journal=Journal of Human Evolution|date=1 July 2006|volume=51|issue=1|pages=1–35|doi=10.1016/j.jhevol.2005.12.012|pmid=16545427|citeseerx=10.1.1.458.2574}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Isbell|first1=Lynne A.|title=The Fruit, the Tree, and the Serpent|date=2009|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yKzIuw4YBCoC&q=The+Fruit%2C+the+Tree%2C+and+the+Serpent+isbell&pg=PR7|publisher=Harvard University Press|language=en|isbn=9780674033016}}</ref> suggests that [[snakes]] have contributed to the evolution of [[primates]]' visual system.

According to the hypothesis, predatory pressure from snakes has selected individuals who are better able to

recognize them, improving their survival chances and therefore transferring such skill to their offspring. From this point of view, snakes were responsible for the modification and expansion of primate visual systems which made [[visual perception|vision]] the most developed sensory interface with the external environment for modern primates.