The Secret in their Eyes

02.23.2016, by

We often say that eyes are mirrors of the soul... in the animal kingdom, they may only be a reflection... of the incredible diversity of our planet's environments. We highlight a few of these species and their characteristics.

These shells have eyes... This queen scallop, photographed in the harbor of Brest (Western France), has some 35-40 little eyes that let it distinguish light.

E. AMICE/LEMAR/CNRS Photothèque

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Some spiders have up to four pairs of eyes, yet their role may not be crucial to perceive the environment. Other tacile and odor receptors may be more efficient.

S. BORENSZTAJN/LISE/CNRS Photothèque

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Ant eyes are more complex. They are made up of facets coated with light-sensitive cells. Ants visualize the world as a bright mosaic, which is very effective for detecting motion.

G. BEUGNON/CRCA/CNRS Photothèque

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The Phronima, a small planktonic crustacean (here collected at the Ocean Observatory of Villefranche-sur-Mer, France), has very large eyes with four deep red retinas that give it panoramic vision.

C. SARDET/Plankton Chronicles/CNRS Photothèque

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There are also those who do not need to see. Such is the case of the Proteus, which is found in Slovenia and Croatia. This cave-based salamander finds its way in the water using a highly-developed sense of touch and smell.

P. CABROL/SETE/CNRS Photothèque

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Termite soldiers are also completely blind. Communication and recognition between individuals is done chemically. Pictured here are Nasutitermes (Nouragues Station, French Guiana).

C. DELHAYE/ECOFOG/CNRS Photothèque

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In other species, eyes are there but sometimes hidden, like on this little Portunidae crab (Moorea, French Polynesia).

T. VIGNAUD/CRIOBE/CNRS Photothèque

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The Southern elephant seal (Mirounga leonina) has large round black eyes. They are adapted to very low light intensities found in the deep waters of the southern seas.

C. GUINET/CEBC/CNRS Photothèque

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Slightly eccentric shall we say? The eyes of the crab family Ocypodidae are on high eyestalks, which is effective to monitor the surroundings, and rapidly disappear. (Pictured here in Teti'aroa, French Polynesia.)

T. VIGNAUD/CRIOBE/CNRS Photothèque

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In gastropod molluscs—such as the Gibberulus gibbosus pictured here (Moorea, French Polynesia)—the shell has two folds to accomodate long eyestalks.

T. VIGNAUD/CRIOBE/CNRS Photothèque

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Other species offer a hint of fancy, such as the common murre. Some of these seabirds, found in the North Atlantic, have a surrounding ring and white line extending behind the eye.

A. GREGOIRE/CEFE/CNRS Photothèque

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And finally, some species have entirely fake eyes, like the moth Epiphora albida, found in the forests of western Uganda. Patterns on the edge of its wings resemble a snake with deceptive eyes, to deter predators.

D. LACHAISE/EGCE/CNRS Photothèque

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