Summary
One photoreceptor type (R7y) in the compound eye of fly (Musca) contains, besides the visual pigment, a photostable pigment (most probably a carotene) with maximal absorption in the blue spectral range. The extinction and dichroism due to this pigment are determined, taking into account waveguide properties, birefringence, anomalous dispersion and possible twisting of the rhabdomeres. The concentration of this pigment, if it is a carotene, is rather high: there are 7–10 molecules per rhodopsin molecule.
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McIntyre, P., Kirschfeld, K. Absorption properties of a photostable pigment (P456) in rhabdomere 7 of the fly. J. Comp. Physiol. 143, 3–15 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00606064
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00606064