2024-04-14 09:34:46
It is heavy ! Scientists have discovered a sea worm with huge eyes. But that’s not all: his vision is so developed that he is suspected of using UV light to communicate secretly, and not with just anyone. Immerse yourself in the world of the Vanadis, the tiny creatures who have nothing to envy of the FBI!
To put yourself in the shoes of this amazing animal, you would have to imagine yourself having eyes weighing 50 kgkg each, firmly fixed in your gigantic eyeballs! Not very comfortable, I grant you that. However, this is the reality of Vanadis silkworms, polychaete worms found in the Mediterranean and whose red-orange eyes weigh together 20 times more than the rest of their head. And when we learn, moreover, that these marine worms are nocturnal, we have to wonder: what is the point of having such enormous eyes?
The fly sees the world in slow motion
The appointment with the ophthalmologist
Considering the impossibility of making a worm squint at a pile of letters written on a distant poster at the ophthalmologist’s, the scientists had to proceed differently. And by otherwise, I mean morphological analysis, electrophysiological tests to determine what types of receptors were in the eyes – and therefore what wavelengths of light the worms might see – and optical analysis to determine get an idea of what kind of resolutionresolution they might see in. And as evidenced by the results published in the journal Current Biologyit was worth it.
Tests revealed that the worms have what researchers call a “ exceptional vision », capable of tracking objects, small in size, in movement, all in high resolution. “ This is really interesting because such an ability is usually reserved for vertebrates, arthropods and cephalopods “, declared in a communiqué Anders Garm, author of the study.
Communication as a couple
This battery of tests did not make it possible to answer the question concerning the size and brightness of their eyes, but led to a completely different discovery: the vision of these worms seems to be oriented towards ultraviolet light (UVUV). And this time, researchers have their own idea regarding the origin of this ability.
According to them, the worms themselves are bioluminescent, and emit UV light, allowing them to communicate with each other in secret. Indeed, usually, bioluminescence is blue or green in color, therefore in the spectrumspectrum of visible light. Using UV light makes the worms invisible to predators, but visible to other members of their species. “ Our hypothesis is therefore that they have developed very precise UV vision in order to have a secret language linked to matingmating », explains Anders Garm. And the most romantic part of the story is that this observation of UV bioluminescence has never been made in another animal: researchers therefore hope that this “top secret” language of love will remain a model in the world communication!
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