Mantis Shrimp Have One of the Most Complex Visual Systems Known

Mantis shrimp have up to 16 types of photoreceptors, letting them detect ultraviolet light, color, and polarized light in ways humans cannot.

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Mantis shrimp have an unusually sophisticated visual system built around compound eyes that can move independently. Their retinas can contain up to 16 distinct functional classes of photoreceptors, with specialized parts of the eye handling ultraviolet, color, spatial, and polarization information. Some species can detect both linear and circular polarization, a property humans do not experience through ordinary vision. Their eyes are divided into specialized regions, including a narrow midband, and the eye stalks can rotate in several directions while scanning the surroundings. This complexity does not simply mean that mantis shrimp see a larger and richer version of the human color experience. Research suggests their visual system processes information differently, with specialized receptors helping them make rapid visual judgments. Scientists are still working to understand exactly how the many signals available to the retina are used by the animal. The result is one of the most unusual visual systems known in the animal world, combining color, ultraviolet, motion, spatial information, and polarization sensing in a remarkably compact eye.

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