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A different form of color vision in mantis shrimp.
- Source :
-
Science (New York, N.Y.) [Science] 2014 Jan 24; Vol. 343 (6169), pp. 411-3. - Publication Year :
- 2014
-
Abstract
- One of the most complex eyes in the animal kingdom can be found in species of stomatopod crustaceans (mantis shrimp), some of which have 12 different photoreceptor types, each sampling a narrow set of wavelengths ranging from deep ultraviolet to far red (300 to 720 nanometers). Functionally, this chromatic complexity has presented a mystery. Why use 12 color channels when three or four are sufficient for fine color discrimination? Behavioral wavelength discrimination tests (Δλ functions) in stomatopods revealed a surprisingly poor performance, ruling out color vision that makes use of the conventional color-opponent coding system. Instead, our experiments suggest that stomatopods use a previously unknown color vision system based on temporal signaling combined with scanning eye movements, enabling a type of color recognition rather than discrimination.
- Subjects :
- Animals
Behavior, Animal
Eye Movements
Color
Color Vision
Crustacea physiology
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 1095-9203
- Volume :
- 343
- Issue :
- 6169
- Database :
- MEDLINE
- Journal :
- Science (New York, N.Y.)
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 24458639
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1245824