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Larval and adult eye of the Western Rock Lobster (Panulirus longipes)

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Summary

A number of differences exists between the compound eyes of larval and adult rock lobsters, Panulirus longipes. The larval eye more closely resembles the apposition type of compound eye, in which retinula cells and rhabdom lie immediately below the cone cells. The adult eye, on the other hand, is a typical clear-zone photoreceptor in which cones and retinula cell layers are separated by a wide transparent region. The rhabdom of the larval eye, if cut longitudinally, exhibits a “banded” structure over its entire length; in the adult the banded part is confined to the distal end, and the rhabdom is tiered. Both eyes have in common an eighth, distally-located retinula cell, which possesses orthogonally-oriented microvilli, and a peculiar lens-shaped “crystal”, which appears to focus light onto the narrow column of the distal rhabdom. Migration of screening pigment on dark-light adaptation is accompanied by changes in sensitivity and resolution of the eye. Retinula cells belonging to one ommatidium do not arrange into one single bundle of axons, but interweave with axons of four neighbouring facets in an extraordinarily regular fashion.

Zusammenfassung

Strukturelle Unterschiede bestehen zwischen dem larvalen und adulten Auge der Languste Panulirus longipes. Im Larvenstadium ist das Auge vom Appositionstypus, aber sobald die freischwimmende Larve ihr planktonisches Leben aufgibt, verändert sich das Auge zu einem „Superpositionsapparat”, dessen Charakteristikum die zwischen dioptrischen und rezipierenden Teil geschobene pigmentfreie Zone ist. Im Larvenauge ist das gesamte spindelförmige Rhabdom gebändert; im Auge des adulten Tieres hingegen bleibt nur ein kleiner distaler Teil gebändert. Beide Augentypen besitzen eine unscheinbare, distal gelagerte achte Sehzelle. Diese zeigt rechtwinklig angeordnete Mikrovilli,die eine bislang unbekannte linsenförmige, kristallähnliche Struktur umgeben. Im Tag/Nacht-Rhythmus ablaufende Pigmentverschiebungen haben Veränderungen der Empfindlichkeit und des Auflösungsvermögens der Augen zur Folge. Axone der Retinulazellen eines Ommatidiums verlassen das Auge nicht als gemeinsames Bündel, sondern vereinigen sich nach einem regelmäßigen Muster mit denen von vier Nachbarommatidien.

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This paper was written aboard R/V “Alpha Helix” (Scripps Institute of Oceanography) during the 1975 South East Asia Bioluminescence Expedition. I wish to thank Prof. G. A. Horridge for letting me use the equipment of his department during my two brief stays in Canberra last year.

Queen Elizabeth II Fellow in Marine Science.

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Meyer-Rochow, V.B. Larval and adult eye of the Western Rock Lobster (Panulirus longipes). Cell Tissue Res. 162, 439–457 (1975). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00209345

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