How Mantis Shrimps See – With Polarity

A mantis shrimps’ polar-vision view of an octopus – enhanced with false colors for our puny human eyes. Click on the screenshot to view the Science Magazine video on YouTube.

MANTIS SHRIMPS ARE FAMOUS FOR HAVING UNIQUE VISUAL CAPABILITIES  not only do they have 16 color receptors in their eyes, they can see six types of polarized light properties that are invisible to us human beings.

Presumably, this helps them in a lot of ways, from hunting to avoiding being hunted, possibly for navigation and other uses.

Polarized vision is complicated.

FORTUNATELY:

Dr. Gruev and his colleagues published a report on the project in Science Magazine, which has also posted a video on YouTube.

Ms. Zang notes that polarized vision capabilities are also found in cuttlefishes, octopuses, squids, crabs, and some fishes.