A fish-eye perspective

Strange visual systems not seen in any other animals have evolved in deep-sea fishes.

VERY LITTLE surface light penetrates ocean depths. Even at just 100m down in clear tropical water, only 1 per cent of the visible light spectrum penetrates and most of it is blue. Because of this, it used to be thought that deep-sea fish species, living below about 1500m, are colourblind. But the Sun is not the only source of light in ocean waters. Recent research suggests many sources of bioluminescence – including jelly-fish, anglerfish and microorganisms – could explain why some deep-sea fish species seem to have surprisingly excellent colour vision. The eyes of vertebrates (fishes, amphibians, mammals, birds and reptiles) have two kinds of cells – called cones and rods – containing light-sensitive pigments (photopigments) known as opsins. Cone cells have up to four types of opsins that detect different colours, typically…

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Australian Geographic (Digital) - 1 Issue, July/August 2019

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