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Polarization-Sensitive Interneurons in the Optic Lobe of the Desert Ant Cataglyphis bicolor

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Abstract

 Desert ants, Cataglyphis bicolor (Hymenoptera), navigate by using compass information provided by skylight polarization. In this study, electrophysiological recordings were made from polarization-sensitive interneurons (POL-neurons) in the optic lobe of Cataglyphis. The POL-neurons exhibit a characteristic polarization opponency. They receive monochromatic input from the UV receptors of the specialized dorsal rim area of the compound eye. Both polarization opponency and monochromacy are features also found in the POL-neurons of crickets (Orthoptera).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Zoologisches Institut der Universität, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland e-mail: labhart@zool.unizh.ch, Tel.: +41-1-6354832, Fax: +41-1-6355716), , , , , , CH

    Thomas Labhart

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  1. Thomas Labhart
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Received: 29 September 1999 / Accepted in revised form: 13 December 1999

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Labhart, T. Polarization-Sensitive Interneurons in the Optic Lobe of the Desert Ant Cataglyphis bicolor . Naturwissenschaften 87, 133–136 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1007/s001140050691

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s001140050691

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