Cuttlefish are among the most singular of cephalopod , but nobody expected the beast to have this especial caper up their sleeve . Cuttlefish can in reality see information in the angle of intense polarize light that we can barely grasp .
We ’re generally most conversant with this special conception from polarise sunglasses . The idea is that spark that was otherwise scattered in all directions is reflected off a surface so that the visible light is oriented in one direction , produce a massive , intense glare . Polarized dark glasses are used to counter this effect and block out most of the reflected light . And , as far as we humans are concerned , that ’s pretty much the end of it . Polarized light creates glare when we ’re dealing with large , flat surfaces – anything from a body of water to a long stretch of main road – and we can use exceptional sunglasses to jam out the worst of this intense igniter .
But cuttlefish , those marvelous mollusc , can do something far more remarkable . They can actually see the angle at which the light is ruminate and polarized , and even the subtle change will activate their gloss - changing defense mechanism , as researchers at the University of Bristol and University of Queensland lately discovered . Bristol lead researcher Dr. Shelby Temple explains how they made the find :
“ We modified LCD computing machine monitors to show change in polarization instead of change in colour , and then meet video of border on objects and find out for changes in skin colour approach pattern to determine if the cuttlefish could see modest changes in polarization direct contrast . Cuttlefish change colour all the time and respond to the flimsy crusade so they are an first-class model . Cuttlefish were much more sensitive than we expect . It was previously think that polarization sensitivity was limited to about 10 - 20 degree differences , but we found that cuttlefish could respond to differences as small as one point . ”
We knew that cuttlefish , along with their cephalopodan first cousin the octopus and squid , could see polarized light in this way , but we had no idea they could see this well . Of course , when you ’ve got an eye as weird as the one up top , maybe it is n’t so tough to conceive that they see the world like no other metal money . Because the mind of learn the angle of polarization is so exotic to us , the investigator are still grappling with all the obscure visual information cuttle are able to see . To that oddment , they are replace the polarisation angle in underwater scenes with different colors to get a good good sense of just what is really in the cuttlefish field of vision . Brisbane researcher Justin Marshall adds :
“ These extraordinary findings suggest that we need to review how we have been measure the ocular world underwater . Cuttlefish may be using the polarisation of igniter much like we use color , which means we may necessitate to look at camouflage and communication underwater in a whole new way . ”
ViaCurrent Biology . Image by FireFly5 onWikimedia .
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