Ocular morphology of the Leatherback sea turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) |
| |
| Authors: | Brudenall Denise K Schwab Ivan R Fritsches Kerstin A |
| |
| Institution: | Animal Eye Services, Macgregor, Brisbane, QLD 4109, Australia;;Department of Ophthalmology and Vision Science, University of California, Davis, CA, USA;;Queensland Eye Institute, South Brisbane, QLD 4101, Australia;;School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia |
| |
| Abstract: | Objective The Leatherback sea turtle is the largest extant reptile and the sole member of the family Dermochelyidae. Here, the eye of this critically endangered marine turtle was investigated to determine the anatomy, optics, and optical sensitivity. Animals studied Three Leatherback sea turtles, Dermochelys coriacea. Results The eye is small in proportion to body size of the adult compared to other vertebrates, with prominence of the retractor bulbi and pyramidalis muscles. The nictitans shows extensive folding of the bulbar conjunctiva as an apparent mechanism to increase the surface area for mucus secretion. The intraocular anatomy is consistent with an eye adapted to aquatic vision with minimal curvature of the cornea, a near‐spherical lens, deep ciliary cleft and highly vascularized ciliary body. The optical sensitivity, a measure of the sensitivity to light of a given optical system, is higher than in other marine turtles studied but lower than those found in teleost fish that share a habitat with the Leatherback sea turtle. Conclusions The Leatherback sea turtle shows ocular features that are characteristic of Chelonians with similarities to aquatic mammals. The calculated optical sensitivity suggests that compared to pelagic fishes, for instance, the Leatherback sea turtle eye is not particularly well adapted for vision in dim light even though this species is known to venture into deep, dark waters, and might feed at night. |
| |
| Keywords: | accommodation anatomy Dermochelys eye Leatherback sea turtle optical sensitivity |
| 本文献已被 PubMed 等数据库收录！ |
|
