Journal
SCIENCE
Volume 336, Issue 6089, Pages 1700-1703Publisher
AMER ASSOC ADVANCEMENT SCIENCE
DOI: 10.1126/science.1218072
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Funding
- Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
- German Federal Ministry of Education and Research
- Alexander-von-Humboldt Foundation
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Despite their diversity, vertebrate retinae are specialized to maximize either photon catch or visual acuity. Here, we describe a functional type that is optimized for neither purpose. In the retina of the elephantnose fish (Gnathonemus petersii), cone photoreceptors are grouped together within reflecting, photonic crystal-lined cups acting as macroreceptors, but rod photoreceptors are positioned behind these reflectors. This unusual arrangement matches rod and cone sensitivity for detecting color-mixed stimuli, whereas the photoreceptor grouping renders the fish insensitive to spatial noise; together, this enables more reliable flight reactions in the fish's dim and turbid habitat as compared with fish lacking this retinal specialization.
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