Armored eyes of the whale shark
Open Access
- 29 June 2020
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Public Library of Science (PLoS) in PLOS ONE
- Vol. 15 (6), e0235342
- https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0235342
Abstract
This report elaborates on adaptations of the eyes of the whale shark Rhincodon typus (Elasmobranchii, Rhincodontidae), including the discovery that they are covered with dermal denticles, which is a novel mechanism of eye protection in vertebrates. The eye denticle differs in morphology from that of the dermal denticles distributed over the rest of the body, consistent with a different function (abrasion resistance). We also demonstrate that the whale shark has a strong ability to retract the eyeball into the eye socket. The retraction distance was calculated to be approximately half the diameter of the eye, which is comparable to those of other vertebrates that are known to have highly retractable eyes. These highly protective features of the whale shark eye seem to emphasize the importance of vision for environmental perception, which contradicts the general, though poorly established, notion of low reliance on vision in this species.This publication has 17 references indexed in Scilit:
- Brain Size and Brain Organization of the Whale Shark, Rhincodon typus, Using Magnetic Resonance ImagingBrain, Behavior and Evolution, 2009
- A review of behavioural ecology of whale sharks (Rhincodon typus)Fisheries Research, 2007
- Feeding behavior and kinematics of the lesser electric ray, Narcine brasiliensis (Elasmobranchii: Batoidea)Zoology, 2004
- Contribution of eye retraction to swallowing performance in the northern leopard frog,Rana pipiensJournal of Experimental Biology, 2004
- Anatomy of the eye of the sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus L.)Aquatic Mammals, 2003
- The Vertebrate BodyIchthyology & Herpetology, 1989
- The morphology ofFalcatus falcatus(St. John and Worthen), a Mississippian stethacanthid chondrichthyan from the Bear Gulch Limestone of MontanaJournal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 1985
- The Visual System of Sharks: Adaptations and CapabilityAmerican Zoologist, 1977
- Morphogenese und Musterbildung des Hautzähnchen‐Skelettes von HeterodontusLethaia, 1974
- Contributions to the morphology of cladoselache (Cladodus)Journal of Morphology, 1894