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Visual Opsin Diversity in Sharks and Rays.

Nathan S Hart1, Trevor D Lamb2, Hardip R Patel3

  • 1Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, North Ryde, NSW, Australia.

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|November 27, 2019
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Rays possess dichromatic color vision using two opsins, while sharks exhibit cone monochromacy, evolving this trait multiple times independently. This suggests limited use of cone-based color vision for large marine predators.

Keywords:
cone monochromacyelasmobranchsopsin evolutionspectral tuningvertebrate vision

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Area of Science:

  • Vision Science
  • Evolutionary Biology
  • Ichthyology

Background:

  • Vertebrate color vision varies due to evolutionary pressures on photoreceptors and pigments.
  • Aquatic vertebrates display diverse chromatic vision, aiding studies on prey detection, predator avoidance, and social interactions.

Purpose of the Study:

  • Investigate the chromatic vision capabilities of elasmobranch fishes (sharks and rays).
  • Understand the evolutionary adaptations of color vision in marine environments.

Main Methods:

  • Microspectrophotometry to measure visual pigment spectral absorbance in photoreceptors.
  • Opsin mRNA sequencing from elasmobranch retinas.

Main Results:

  • Rays exhibit dichromatic color vision, utilizing RH2 and LWS cone opsins.
  • Sharks are confirmed cone monochromats, with independent evolution of single cone opsins (LWS or RH2) across species.

Conclusions:

  • Cone-based color vision appears less critical for large marine predators like sharks, pinnipeds, and cetaceans.
  • Independent evolution of cone monochromacy in sharks highlights adaptive pressures in marine predation.