Possible monocular range-finding mechanisms in stomatopods from different environmental light conditions

Abstract 1. 1. Stomatopods have double eyes. 2. 2. In the middle band dividing the two halves of the eye ommatidia are perpendicular to the cornea. 3. 3. Rows of ommatidia parallel to the middle band have divergent optical axes. 4. 4. In the columns across the middle band the optical axes of ommatidia near the middle band are convergent between the two halves of the eye. 5. 5. From the fifth to tenth ommatidium towards the sides optical axes on each side are parallel to each other and to those in the middle band. 6. 6. This results in a strong overlap of visual fields between ommatidia with parallel optical axes in each half of the eye and with the fields of the skewed ommatidia from the opposite half of the eye. 7. 7. We postulate this as the morphological basis for a range-finding and motion measuring device along the columns, repeated around the eye along the rows. 8. 8. We hypothesize that this device may measure distances by the amount and pattern of overlap of visual fields at each point in space. 9. 9. Species from bright light habitats show less skewed ommatidia and similar patterns of overlap are shifted to longer distances than in dim light species.

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