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Vision in the hyperiid amphipod Scina crassicornis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 October 2007

Jonathan H. Cohen
Affiliation:
Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution, 5600 US 1 North Fort Pierce, Florida 34946, USA Departments of Biology and Marine Science, Eckerd College, 4200 54th Avenue South St Petersburg, FL 33711, USA
Tamara M. Frank
Affiliation:
Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution, 5600 US 1 North Fort Pierce, Florida 34946, USA

Abstract

Light microscopy and extracellular electrophysiology were used to investigate eye structure and visual physiology of the hyperiid amphipod Scina crassicornis, a mesopelagic species that emits unusually short-wavelength luminescence (λmax=435–444 nm). The overall eye morphology is most similar to some previously described deep-dwelling amphipods, though not other hyperiids. Electroretinograms suggest that S. crassicornis possesses a relatively sensitive eye with slow temporal dynamics, and a monochromatic visual system (λmax=472 nm). Vision in S. crassicornis is well-suited for life in mesopelagic waters, and its short-wavelength luminescence does not play a role in intraspecific sexual signalling.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
2007 Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom

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