Evolution of vertebrate colour vision
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Updated: Aug 23, 2026

Determination of Photoreceptor Cell Spectral Sensitivity in an Insect Model from In Vivo Intracellular Recordings
Published on: February 26, 2016
Gerald H Jacobs1, Mickey P Rowe
1Neuroscience Research Institute and Department of Psychology, University of California, Santa Barbara 93106, USA.
Abstract:
Recent years have witnessed a growing interest in learning how colour vision has evolved. This trend has been fuelled by an enhanced understanding of the nature and extent of colour vision among contemporary species, by a deeper understanding of the paleontological record and by the application of new tools from molecular biology. This review provides an assessment of the progress in understanding the evolution of vertebrate colour vision. In so doing, we offer accounts of the evolution of three classes of mechanism important for colour vision--photopigment opsins, oil droplets and retinal organisation--and then examine details of how colour vision has evolved among mammals and, more specifically, among primates.
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