Kagome100
03-13-2005, 02:22 PM
Reptiles see color
By April Holladay for USA TODAY
Q: Do reptiles see in color like birds and humans? Do they see things in their visual spectrum that we don't (like birds seeing into the ultraviolet)?
A: Yes, many reptiles appear to see in color much as birds do but unlike humans. What a perceptive question! As you imply, seeing in color depends on the animal. Different species can look at the same object but see different colors and patterns.
Human eyes have three types of color cones that absorb red, blue, and green light best. These colors are primary for us. Many reptiles (11 species) have four color cone types and, consequently, have four primary colors. They see a different world.
We see a blue sky. A reptile may see a green one or some other color we can't even dream of. Turtles, lizards, and birds can see in ultraviolet and probably dinosaurs could too. Imagine a reddish-ultraviolet rose. I can't. A turtle might see such a combination, though.
A rainbow illustrates some of the differences among birds, reptiles, and humans. Probably all birds perceive rainbows but the colors are too close together for many reptiles to resolve, says Mickey Rowe, neuroscientist at University of California, Santa Barbara.
Their eye optics is too poor and they have too sparse a density of color-sensing cones. Also, humans may see more bow hues, not because we have more cone types (we generally have fewer) but because we have vastly more neurons than reptiles to process visual information.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/science/2004-01-02-wonder-quest_x.htm
By April Holladay for USA TODAY
Q: Do reptiles see in color like birds and humans? Do they see things in their visual spectrum that we don't (like birds seeing into the ultraviolet)?
A: Yes, many reptiles appear to see in color much as birds do but unlike humans. What a perceptive question! As you imply, seeing in color depends on the animal. Different species can look at the same object but see different colors and patterns.
Human eyes have three types of color cones that absorb red, blue, and green light best. These colors are primary for us. Many reptiles (11 species) have four color cone types and, consequently, have four primary colors. They see a different world.
We see a blue sky. A reptile may see a green one or some other color we can't even dream of. Turtles, lizards, and birds can see in ultraviolet and probably dinosaurs could too. Imagine a reddish-ultraviolet rose. I can't. A turtle might see such a combination, though.
A rainbow illustrates some of the differences among birds, reptiles, and humans. Probably all birds perceive rainbows but the colors are too close together for many reptiles to resolve, says Mickey Rowe, neuroscientist at University of California, Santa Barbara.
Their eye optics is too poor and they have too sparse a density of color-sensing cones. Also, humans may see more bow hues, not because we have more cone types (we generally have fewer) but because we have vastly more neurons than reptiles to process visual information.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/science/2004-01-02-wonder-quest_x.htm