What hypothesis suggests that early primates evolved traits for seeing small objects in a dense forest?

The angiosperm radiation hypothesis posits that early primates developed specific adaptations, including enhanced vision, due to the diversification of flowering plants (angiosperms) in tropical forests. As these flowering plants became more abundant, primates needed to adapt their foraging strategies to locate and identify small fruits and flowers that often grew within dense foliage. The hypothesis emphasizes the importance of visual acuity and color vision in helping primates navigate their environment and successfully exploit these resources.

In contrast, the visual predation hypothesis focuses on the adaptations necessary for hunting small prey, while the arboreal hypothesis suggests that adaptations arose primarily to facilitate living in trees. The social intelligence hypothesis addresses the cognitive demands of living in complex social structures rather than sensory adaptations for foraging. Each of these other hypotheses connects to evolutionary traits but does so within different contexts than the angiosperm radiation hypothesis, which directly links the evolution of primate vision to their interactions with flowering plants in their natural habitat.