- Color receptor organization in the retina chickens exceeds that of mammals and most other retinas observed in nature.
- But why is that? One explanation:
- Millions of years ago, during the evolution of birds and mammals, our ancestors were primarily nocturnal, adapting night-vision receptors called rods for survival from the threat of larger predators.
- Birds on the other hand, widely believed to be descendants of dinosaurs, were able to survive during the daytime and further develop their light-sensing receptors called cones.
- Humans have retina cones sensitive only to red, blue, and green wavelengths.
- Birds share these and have other receptors to detect violet and ultraviolet (UV) wavelengths, and another specialized receptor believed to detect motion.
- Relevance:
- Could lead to new understandings of inherent problems in human eyes and ideas on how to fix them.
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