Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-8ctnn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-23T23:03:10.308Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Development of the lateral eye of American horseshoe crabs: Visual field and dioptric array

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 June 2009

Michael J. Shih ,
William W. Weiner ,
Kathleen Kier Wheatley ,
Jennifer L. DePonceau ,
Mary Anne Sydlik  and
Steven C. Chamberlain
Michael J. Shih
Affiliation:
Department of Biomedical Engineering, Duke University, Durham
William W. Weiner
Affiliation:
Institute for Sensory Research, and Department of Bioengineering and Neuroscience, Syracuse University, Syracuse
Kathleen Kier Wheatley
Affiliation:
Institute for Sensory Research, and Department of Bioengineering and Neuroscience, Syracuse University, Syracuse
Jennifer L. DePonceau
Affiliation:
Department of Biology, SUNY Geneseo, Geneseo
Mary Anne Sydlik
Affiliation:
Department of Biology, SUNY Geneseo, Geneseo
Steven C. Chamberlain
Affiliation:
Institute for Sensory Research, and Department of Bioengineering and Neuroscience, Syracuse University, Syracuse
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

We used a precision two-circle goniometer mounted to the stage of a compound microscope to determine the optical alignment and to measure the entrance aperture diameter of individual cuticular cones in the dioptric array of the lateral eye of juvenile horseshoe crabs in order to learn about the development of the visual field. Our results show that the extent of the visual field of juvenile horseshoe crabs with prosomal lengths about 20% ofadult size (14–21 mm) is about 70% that of the visual field of adult horseshoe crabs (prosomal lengths: 100+ mm). The visual field of such juvenile animals covers between 77 and 85 deg vertically and 140 and 145 deg horizontally. Assuming that the dioptric array is uniform and square packed, the average interommatidial angle of the juvenile animals is between 5.6 and 6.0 deg as compared to 4.6 deg for an adult animal. The diameter of the entrance aperture of individual cuticular cones increases markedly with increasing animal size. In addition, we noted a statistically significant trend for entrance aperture diameters to increase from anterior to posterior within the eye for animals of all sizes. There may be a slight trend for entrance aperture diameters to increase from dorsal to ventral within the eye. Our results indicate that the extent of the visual field and the resolution of the lateral eye approach adult values in advance of animals' reaching sexual maturity.

Keywords

Limulus polyphemusOmmatidiaCompound eyeInvertebrate retinaVisual resolution
Type
Research Articles
Information
Visual Neuroscience , Volume 12 , Issue 3 , May 1995 , pp. 485 - 492
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1995

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Barlow, R.B. Jr., Ireland, L.C. & Kass, L. (1982). Vision has a role in Limulus mating behavior. Nature 296, 65–66.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chamberlain, S.C. & Barlow, R.B. Jr. (1982). Retinotopic organization of lateral eye input to the Limulus brain. Journal of Neurophysiology 48, 505–520.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Exner, S. (1891). Die Physiologie der facettirten Augen von Krebsen und Insecten. Leipzig and Vienna: Franz Deuticke.Google Scholar
Fletcher, A., Murphy, T. & Young, A. (1954). Solutions of two optical problems. Proceedings of the Royal Society A (London) 223, 216–225.Google Scholar
Herzog, E.D. (1994). Vision in Limulus: From optics to neurons to behavior. Ph.D. Dissertation, Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York.Google Scholar
Horridge, G.A. (1977). The compound eye of insects. Scientific American 237, 108–120.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Land, M.F. (1979). The optical mechanism of the eye of Limulus. Nature 280, 396–397.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Land, M.F. (1989). Variations in the structure and design of compound eyes. In Facets of Vision, ed. Stavenga, D.G. & Hardie, R.C., pp. 90–111. Berlin: Springer-Verlag.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Laschat, F. (1944). Die embryonale und postembryonale entwicklung der netzaugen und ocellen von Rhodnius prolixus. Zeitschrift für Morphologic und Oekologie der Tiere 40, 314–347.Google Scholar
Loveland, R.E. & Botton, M.L. (1992). Size dimorphism and the mating system in horseshoe crabs, Limulus polyphemus L. Animal Behavior 44, 907–916.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Marler, J.J., Barlow, R.B. Jr., Eisele, L. & Kass, L. (1983). Photo-receptors add at the anterior edge of Limulus lateral eye. Biological Bulletin (Abstract) 165, 541.Google Scholar
Meinertzhagen, l.A. (1973). Development of the compound eye and optic lobe of insects. In Developmental Neurobiology of Arthropods, ed. Young, D., pp. 51–104. London: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Nowel, M.S. (1981). Postembryonic growth of the compound eye of the cockroach. Journal of Embryology and Experimental Morphology 62, 259–275.Google Scholar
Sekiguchi, K., Seshimo, H. & Sugita, H. (1988). Post-embryonic development of the horseshoe crab. Biological Bulletin 174, 337–345.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sherk, T.E. (1978). Development of the compound eyes of dragonflies (Odonata) II. Development of the larval compound eye. Journal of Experimental Zoology 203, 47–60.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Snodderly, D.M. & Barlow, R.B. Jr. (1970). Projections of the lateral eye of Limulus to the brain. Nature 227, 284–286.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Snyder, A. (1979). Physics of vision in compound eyes. In Vision in Invertebrates (Handbook of Sensory Physiology, Vol. VII/6A), ed. Autrum, H., pp. 225–313. Berlin: Springer.Google Scholar
Sydlik, M.A., DePonceau, J.L., Kier, K.A., Weiner, W.W. & Chamberlain, S.C. (1992). Changes in retinal array properties during the development of young horseshoe crabs. Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science (Suppl.) 33, 1835.Google Scholar
Waterman, T.H. (1954). Relative growth and the compound eye in Xiphosura. Journal of Morphology 95, 125–158.Google Scholar
Weiner, W.W. & Chamberlain, S.C. (1994). The visual fields of American horseshoe crabs: Two different eye shapes in Limulus polyphemus. Visual Neuroscience 11, 333–346.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Young, E.G. (1969). Eye growth in Corixidae (Hemiptera: Heteroptera). Proceedings of the Royal Entomological Society A (London) 44, 71–78.Google Scholar