General Chat

The mantis shrimps, found on the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, have the most complex vision systems known to science, researchers at Bristol University have found.

The shrimps can see in 12 colours - humans see in only three - and can distinguish between different forms of light to give a sophisticated and vivid 3D image.

Special light-sensitive cells in mantis shrimp eyes perform similar functions to electronic sensors found in the mechanism of a DVD and CD player, the study said.

Specifically, both mantis shrimps and DVD or CD players are able to convert light into different forms so it can be stored and then retrieved.

But the key difference is mantis shrimps are able to do this across the whole spectrum of light, whereas DVD or CD players have a much narrower band to work with.

Dr Nicholas Roberts, lead author of the paper published in Nature Photonics, said his work showed for the first time the unique design and mechanism of the mantis shrimp's eye.

He said: "It really is exceptional - out-performing anything we humans have so far been able to create."

Dr Roberts went on to explain how the mantis shrimps' design could assist with improving optical devices.

He said: "What's particularly exciting is how beautifully simple it is. This natural mechanism, comprised of cell membranes rolled into tubes, completely outperforms synthetic designs.

"It could help us make better optical devices in the future using liquid crystals that have been chemically engineered to mimic the properties of the cells in the mantis shrimp's eye."

The mantis shrimp research was conducted at the University of Bristol's School of Biological Sciences in collaboration with colleagues at University of Maryland, Baltimore County in the United States and the University of Queensland, Australia.

Nothing is new in Nature. Science does not so much discover as re-discover

What does a shrimp need all that for then?