No eyes? No problem. Marine creature expands boundaries of vision

WILL DUNHAM
REUTERS
Washington, United States / Sat, January 4, 2020 / 09:04 am



A red brittle star, Ophiocoma wendtii, is seen in this image released on January 2, 2020. A cousin of the sea star and sea cucumber, this species that lives among the coral reefs of the Caribbean is one of two known animals that lack eyes but still possess the ability to see. (Handout via REUTERS/Lauren Sumner-Rooney)

A cousin of the starfish that resides in the coral reefs of the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico lacks eyes, but can still see, according to scientists who studied this creature that expands the boundaries of the sense of sight in the animal kingdom.

Researchers said on Thursday that the red brittle star, called Ophiocoma wendtii, is only the second creature known to be able to see without having eyes - known as extraocular vision - joining a single species of sea urchin.

It possesses this exotic capability thanks to light-sensing cells, called photoreceptors, covering its body and pigment cells, called chromatophores, that move during the day to facilitate the animal's dramatic color change from a deep reddish-brown in daytime to a stripy beige at nighttime.

Brittle stars, with five radiating arms extending from a central disk, are related to starfish (also called sea stars), sea cucumbers, sea urchins and others in a group of marine invertebrates called echinoderms. They have a nervous system but no brain.

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https://www.thejakartapost.com/life/2020/01/03/no-eyes-no-problem-marine-creature-expands-boundaries-of-vision.html