Comparative 3D-microanatomy of the visual system of cephalopod hatchlings.
American Malacological Society 74th annual meeting, abstracts: 46.
| Autoren/Herausgeber: |
Haszprunar G Heß M |
|---|---|
| Erschienen: | 2008 |
| Publikationsart: | Congress Contributions and Posters |
Leaving the egg-shell coleoid cephalopods are equipped with a structurally well developed visual system. Depending on the remaining yolk reservoir, total body size and locomotion efficiency the importance of visual orientation should differ between species, this in turn should be reflected in morphological differences within the visual system. Based on histological section series we generated digital 3d-reconstructions of the eyes and parts of the central nervous system of the hatchlings of six cephalopod species: Octopus vulgaris, Eledone cirrhosa, Loligo vulgaris, Sepia officinalis, Sepietta obscura and Rossia sp. Eye geometry, retina topography and the internal complexity of the optical lobes, as well as absolute volumes and volume ratios (e.g. retina vs. optical lobe) are investigated and discussed in terms of functional morphology, visual ecology and evolution. The first results argue for an advanced visual faculty already in the first days of life outside the egg in all examined species, improving directly proportional to the total body size.
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