Eye spy! (Life News).How does an animal with no eyes see? Scientists studying a bizarre sea creature called the brittlestar brittlestar, common name for echinoderms belonging to the class Ophiuroidea. The name is derived from their habit of breaking off arms as a means of defense. New arms are easily regenerated. , cousin to the starfish, have pondered that question for decades. Finally they've found the answer: The brittlestar doesn't have eyes--it is an eye! Until now, scientists thought the spiny spiny sharp spines protrude. spiny amaranth amaranthusspinosum. spiny anteater see echidna. spiny clotburr xanthiumspinosum. spiny emex see emex australis. , five-armed invertebrate invertebrate (ĭn'vûr`təbrət, –brāt'), any animal lacking a backbone. The invertebrates include the tunicates and lancelets of phylum Chordata, as well as all animal phyla other than Chordata. (animal with no backbone) was blind. Although the brittlestar seems to have crystal-clear vision--it flees predators and scouts out places to hide--scientists assumed its arms were the reason. Wrong! Last summer, researchers studying a species of brittlestar called Ophiocoma wendtii The brittle star Ophiocoma wendtii inhabits coral reefs from Bermuda to Brazil. It is known for its advanced compound eyes. Its arms are covered with calcite crystals. discovered that the creature forms its skeleton out of smooth-faced crystals that work like a magnifying glass to collect and focus light--10 times as accurate as a manufactured lens! --R.W. |
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