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Updated: Jul 13, 2026

Assays to Detect UV-reflecting Structures and Determine their Importance in Mate Preference using the Sailfin Molly Poecilia latipinna
Published on: September 14, 2016
Potential ultraviolet vision in pre-settlement larvae and settled reef fish--a comparison across 23 families
1Vision Touch and Hearing Research Laboratory, School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Queensland, St. Lucia 4072, Australia. u.siebeck@uq.edu.au
Abstract:
After hatching, larvae of coral reef fishes experience a pelagic phase during which they are diurnal planktivores. It has been suggested that ultraviolet (UV) vision is beneficial for the detection of planktonic prey. Aims were therefore to investigate whether ocular media of pre-settlement reef fish differ from those of respective adults, and whether larvae have UV-transparent ocular media required for UV vision. The ocular media of 84 pre-settlement and 98 adult species belonging to the same families were measured and compared. We suggest that adult lifestyle rather than planktivory in general shapes the ocular media properties of pre-settlement larvae.

