Radiodonts stalked the oceans more than 500 million years ago and are one of the earliest animal types to emerge on planet Earth.

Now a new study has revealed how their big eyes gave them an edge when hunting for food, forcing their prey to adapt or die, and fuelling a surge in evolution. .

Radiodonta stalked the oceans more than 500 million years ago and are one of the earliest animal types to emerge on planet Earth.

John Paterson of the University of New England, the lead author of the study, said it was this 'arms race' that gave rise to the diversity of life we see today.

'This so-called "arms race" was a constant evolutionary battle between predators and prey over time, with predators adapting better "weapons" and prey improving their defences.'.

He added: 'It is possible that this arms race is largely responsible for the diversity of life we see today.

'Once animals started to eat each other over 500 million years ago, it set off an expanding network of complex ecological interactions that undoubtedly resulted in new species evolving over time.'.

Their big eyes gave them an edge when hunting food, forcing their prey to adapt or die, and fuelling a surge in evolution.

Dr Paterson said: 'We demonstrated that radiodonts have some of the largest and most complex eyes in the history of animal life.

Radiodonts had some of the largest and most complex eyes in the history of animal life, that gave them sharp vision as well as the ability to see at different light levels within the ocean

John Paterson of the University of New England, the lead author of the study, said it was this 'arms race' that gave rise to the diversity of life we see today

Over the following 70 or 80 million years, the rate of evolution accelerated and the diversity of life began to resemble that of today