"Here, for the first time, Oxford zoologist Andrew Parker reveals his theory of this great flourishing of life. Parker's astounding explanation is that it was the development of vision in primitive animals that caused the explosion. Precambrian creatures were unable to see, making it difficult to find friend or foe. With the evolution of the eye, the size, shape, color, and behavior of animals was suddenly revealed. Once the lights were "turned on," there was enormous pressure to evolve hard external parts as defenses and clasping limbs to grab prey. The animal kingdom exploded into life, and the country of the blind became a teeming mass of hunters and hunted, all scrambling for their place on the evolutionary tree."--Jacket.