Abstract
-
1.
We examined microspectrophotometrically the retinas of 3 species of stomatopods in the superfamily Gonodactyloidea, all of which live in environments that are reduced both in the intensity and spectral range of natural illumination. Species examined were Odontodactylus brevirostris, O. scyllarus, and Hemisquilla ensigera.
-
2.
All 3 species had the typical gonodactyloid diversity of visual pigments, with 8 different photopigments residing in the 4 tiered rows of the midband and 2 additional types in the untiered classes of photoreceptors in the midband and peripheral retina. The spectral range covered by the λmax values of the visual pigments of each species was similar to that of other gonodactyloid and lysiosquilloid species.
-
3.
Apparent retinal adaptations in species of Odontodactylus for vision in dimly lit, spectrally narrow photic environments were seen primarily as specializations of the intrarhabdomal filters. These were of reduced diversity, and had reduced absorption at long wavelengths compared to the filters of other gonodactyloid stomatopods. Retinas of H. ensigera lacked both proximal classes of intrarhabdomal filter, and had the smallest total range of visual pigment λmax yet observed in mantis shrimps. These modifications decrease the spectral range and number of types of narrow-band spectral classes of phooreceptors, while increasing their sensitivity.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Basch LV, Engle JM (1989) Aspects of the ecology and behavior of the stomatopod Hemisquilla ensigera californiensis (Gonodactyloidea: Hemisquillidae). In: Ferrero EA (ed) Biology of stomatopods. Mucchi Editore, Modena, pp 199–212
Bernard GD (1987) Spectral characterization of butterfly L-receptors using extended Dartnall/MacNichol template functions. J Opt Soc Am A4:P123
Caldwell RL, Dingle H (1975) Ecology and evolution of agonistic behavior in stomatopods. Naturwissenschaften 62:214–222
Caldwell RL, Roderick GK, Shuster SM (1989) Studies of predation by Gonodactylus bredini. In: Ferrero EA (ed) Biology of stomatopods. Mucchi Editore, Modena, pp 117–131
Cavenaugh, GM (1956) Formulae and methods of the marine biological laboratory chemical room. Woods Hole, Mass
Cronin TW (1985) The visual pigment of a stomatopod crustacean, Squilla empusa. J Comp Physiol A 156:679–687
Cronin TW (1986) Optical design and evolutionary adaptation in crustacean compound eyes. J Crust Biol 6:1–23
Cronin TW, Forward RB Jr (1988) The visual pigments of crabs I. Spectral properties. J Comp Physiol A 164:463–478
Cronin TW, Marshall NJ (1989a) Multiple spectral classes of photoreceptors in the retinas of gonodactyloid stomatopod crustaceans. J Comp Physiol A 166:267–275
Cronin TW, Marshall NJ (1989b) A retina with at least ten spectral types of photoreceptors in a stomatopod crustacean. Nature 339:137–140
Cronin TW, Marshall NJ, Land MF (1991) Optokinesis in gonodactyloid mantis shrimps (Crustacea; Stomatopoda; Gonodactylidae). J Comp Physiol A 168:233–240
Cronin TW, Marshall NJ, Caldwell RL (1993) Photoreceptor spectral diversity in the retinas of mantis shrimps. J Comp Physiol A 172:339–350
Cronin TW, Marshall NJ, Caldwell RL (1994a) The intrarhabdomal filters in the retinas of mantis shrimps. Vision Res 34:279–291
Cronin TW, Marshall NJ, Quinn CA, King CA (1994b) Ultraviolet photoreception in mantis shrimps. Vision Res (in press)
Dominguez JH, Reaka M (1988) Temporal activity patterns in reef-dwelling stomatopods: a test of alternative hypotheses. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 117:47–69
Goldsmith TH (1978a) The spectral adsorption of crayfish rhabdoms: Pigment, photoproduct and pH sensitivity. Vision Res 18:463–473
Goldsmith TH (1978b) The effects of screening pigments on the spectral sensitivity of some Crustacea with scotopic (superposition) eyes. Vision Res 18:475–482
Goldsmith TH, Cronin TW (1993) The retinoids of seven species of mantis shrimp. Visual Neurosci 10:915–921
Horridge GA (1978) The separation of visual axes in apposition compound eyes. Phil Trans R Soc Lond B 285:1–59
Jerlov NG (1976) Optical oceanography. Elsevier, Amsterdam
Land MF, Marshall NJ, Brownless D, Cronin TW (1990) The eyemovements of the mantis shrimp Odontodactylus scyllarus (Crustacea: stomatopods). J Comp Physiol A 167:155–166
Levine JS, Lobal PS, MacNichol EF (1980) Visual communication in fishes. In: Ali MA (ed) Environmental physiology of fishes. Plenum Press, New York, pp 447–476
Loew ER, Lythgoe JN (1978) The ecology of cone pigments in teleost fish. Vision Res 18:715–722
Loew ER, McFarland WN (1990) The underwater visual environment. In: Douglas RH, Djamgoz MBA (eds) The visual system of fish. Chapman and Hall, London, pp 1–43
Lythgoe JN (1988) Light and vision in the aquatic environment. In: Atema J, Fay RR, Popper AN, Tavolga WN (eds) Sensory biology of aquatic animals. Springer, New York, pp 57–82
Lythgoe JN, Partridge JC (1991) The modelling of optimal visual pigments of dichromatic teleosts in green coastal waters. Vision Res 31:361–371
Manning RB (1969) Stomatopod Crustacea of the Western Atlantic. Studies in Tropical Oceanography No. 8, Institute of Marine Sciences, University of Miami, 380 pp
Manning RB, Schiff H, Abbott BC (1984) Eye structure and the classification of stomatopod Crustacea. Zool Scripta 13:41–44
Marshall NJ (1988) A unique colour and polarisation vision system in mantis shrimps. Nature 333:557–560
Marshall NJ, Land MF (1993a) Some optical features of the eyes of stomatopods. I. Eye shape, optical axes and resolution. J Comp Physiol A 173:565–582
Marshall NJ, Land MF (1993b) Some optical features of the eyes of stomatopods. II. Ommatidial design, sensitivity and habitat. J Comp Physiol A 173:583–594
Marshall NJ, Land MF, King CA, Cronin TW (1991a) The compound eyes of mantis shrimps (Crustacea, Hoplocarida, Stomatopoda). I. Compound eye structure: The detection of polarised light. Phil Trans R Soc Lond B 334:33–56
Marshall NJ, Land MF, King CA, Cronin TW (1991b) The compound eyes of mantis shrimps (Crustacea, Hoplocarida, Stomatopoda). II. Colour pigments in the eyes of stomatopod crustaceans: Polychromatic vision by serial and lateral filtering. Phil Trans R Soc Lond B 334:57–84
McFarland WN, Munz FW (1975) The evolution of photopic visual pigments in fish. Vision Res 15:1071–1080
Peitsch D, Fietz A, Hertel H, de Souza J, Ventura DF, Menzel R (1992) The spectral input systems of hymenopteran insects and their receptor-based colour vision. J Comp Physiol A 170:23–40
Schiff H, Manning RB, Abbott BC (1986) Structure and optics of ommatidia from eyes of stomatopod crustaceans from different luminous habitats. Biol Bull 170:461–480
Walls GL (1942) The vertebrate eye and its adaptive radiation. The Cranbrook Institute of Science, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, 785 PP
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Cronin, T.W., Marshall, N.J. & Caldwell, R.L. The retinas of mantis shrimps from low-light environments (Crustacea; Stomatopoda; Gonodactylidae). J Comp Physiol A 174, 607–619 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00217382
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00217382