In Photos: Mantis Shrimp Show Off Googly Eyes

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Animal Vision

The eyes of the mantis shrimp <em>Raoulserenea hieroglyphica</em>.

(Image credit: Image courtesy of Roy L. Caldwell)

The eyes of the mantis shrimp Raoulserenea hieroglyphica.

Mantis Shrimp

The eyes of the mantis shrimp <em>Raoulserenea komai</em>.

(Image credit: Image courtesy of Roy L. Caldwell)

The eyes of the mantis shrimp Raoulserenea komai.

Training a Shrimp

The mantis shrimp <em>Haptosquilla trispinosa</em>.

(Image credit: Image courtesy of Mike Bok.)

The mantis shrimp Haptosquilla trispinosa. When researchers trained H. trispinosa to associate a spectral light with a food reward, it could discriminate wavelength differences of about 25 nanometers, or about the difference between what we see as pure yellow and orange. For comparison, humans can distinguish wavelength differences of 1 to 4 nm.

Jeanna Bryner
Managing editor, Scientific American

Jeanna Bryner is managing editor of Scientific American. Previously she was editor in chief of Live Science and, prior to that, an editor at Scholastic's Science World magazine. Bryner has an English degree from Salisbury University, a master's degree in biogeochemistry and environmental sciences from the University of Maryland and a graduate science journalism degree from New York University. She has worked as a biologist in Florida, where she monitored wetlands and did field surveys for endangered species, including the gorgeous Florida Scrub Jay. She also received an ocean sciences journalism fellowship from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. She is a firm believer that science is for everyone and that just about everything can be viewed through the lens of science.