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The morphology of the dorsal eye of the hydrothermal vent shrimp, Rimicaris exoculata

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 June 2009

Patrick J. O'Neill ,
Robert N. Jinks ,
Erik D. Herzog ,
Barbara-Anne Battelle ,
Leonard Kass ,
George H. Renninger  and
Steven C. Chamberlain
Patrick J. O'Neill
Affiliation:
Department of Bioengineering and Neuroscience, Syracuse University, Syracuse
Robert N. Jinks
Affiliation:
Department of Bioengineering and Neuroscience, Syracuse University, Syracuse Institute for Sensory Research, Syracuse University, Syracuse
Erik D. Herzog
Affiliation:
Department of Bioengineering and Neuroscience, Syracuse University, Syracuse Institute for Sensory Research, Syracuse University, Syracuse
Barbara-Anne Battelle
Affiliation:
The Whitney Laboratory, University of Florida, St. Augustine
Leonard Kass
Affiliation:
Department of Zoology, University of Maine, Orono
George H. Renninger
Affiliation:
Biophysics Group, Department of Physics, University of Guelph, Guelph
Steven C. Chamberlain
Affiliation:
Department of Bioengineering and Neuroscience, Syracuse University, Syracuse Institute for Sensory Research, Syracuse University, Syracuse
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Abstract

The bresiliid shrimp, Rimicaris exoculata, lives in large masses on the sides of hydrothermal vent chimneys at two sites on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Although essentially no daylight penetrates to depths of 3500 m, very dim light is emitted from the hydrothermal vents themselves. To exploit this light, R. exoculata has evolved a modified compound eye on its dorsal surface that occupies about 0.5% of the animal's body volume. The eye's morphology suggests that it is extremely sensitive to light. The cornea of the dorsal eye is smooth with no dioptric apparatus. The retina consists of two wing-shaped lobes that are fused across the midline anteriorly. The rhabdomeral segments of the 7000 ommatidia form a compact layer of photosensitive membrane with an entrance aperture of more than 26 mm2. Within this layer, the volume density of rhabdom is more than 70%. Below the rhabdomeral segments, a thick layer of white diffusing cells scatters light upward into the photoreceptors. The arhabdomeral segments of the five to seven photoreceptors of each ommatidium are mere strands of cytoplasm that expand to accommodate the photoreceptor nuclei. The rhabdom is comprised of well-organized arrays of microvilli, each with a cytoskeletal core. The rhabdomeral segment cytoplasm contains mitochondria, but little else. The perikaryon contains a band of mitochondria, but has only small amounts of endoplasmic reticulum. There is no ultrastructural indication of photosensitive membrane cycling in these photoreceptors. Vestigial screening pigment cells and screening pigment granules within the photoreceptors are both restricted to the inner surface of the layer of the white diffusing cells. Below the retina, photoreceptor axons converge in a fan-shaped array to enter the dorsal surface of the brain. The eye's size and structure are consistent with a role for vision in shrimp living at abyssal hydrothermal vents.

Keywords

Bresiliid shrimpInvertebrate photoreceptorsDeep sea visionMid-Atlantic RidgeDSV Alvin
Type
Research Articles
Information
Visual Neuroscience , Volume 12 , Issue 5 , September 1995 , pp. 861 - 875
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1995

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