ANIMALS AND COLOR

Do animal see color

Many animals have the ability to see colors. This ability is based on the types of visual pigments in a cell. Animals and insects cover an exhaustive field of biological diversity. The majority of spiders have eight eyes and poor vision, while flies have hundreds of tiny lenses and near-360-degree vision. Eagles can spot a mouse from over one mile high (1.6 km), while a sloth has trouble seeing any animal that isn’t moving. Considering this vast diversity, whether or not animals see in color is a question that must be taken species by species.

Which animals see color

For example, many fish can see colors (e.g. Phoxinus, Crenilabrus). Some amphibians can see colors (frog: Rana temporaria, toads: Bufo bufo, some salamanders) and they usually have two pigments. Most reptiles can see colors (snakes, turtles). Birds: general rule: birds that are active during the day can see colors, but birds that are acitve during the night cannot. Mammals are generally bad in color vision. Examples of color-blind mammals are rats, hamsters, rabbits, and dogs. Cats are weak, but can see some colors. Mammals that are quite good are guinea pigs, sheep, zebra, horses. Also some invertebrates are able to see colors. Some Cephalopods (e.g. sepia, but not octopus). Crabs are generally good in color vision. Many insects (all beetles, hymenopterans (bees, wasps, ants), homopterans (ture bugs), and all flies. All insects are unable to see red light (only known exception are ants), but some are able to see UV (ultraviolet) instead. Many animals can see things that we cannot. For example, cats rely on their night vision to give them an advantage as they hunt for prey, while our human ancestors - who couldn’t see well in the dark - sought safe refuge at night and hunted during the daylight hours. Although we know that sight differs among animals, we do not know what animals actually perceive. There is an important distinction between having light illuminate the retina, and understanding what is being seen. Color vision and perception across the animal kingdom is the subject of much ongoing research, as we have a very limited understanding of the many ways animals see.

What color do they see

 Many animals can see things that we cannot. For example, cats rely on their night vision to give them an advantage as they hunt for prey, while our human ancestors - who couldn’t see well in the dark - sought safe refuge at night and hunted during the daylight hours. Although we know that sight differs among animals, we do not know what animals actually perceive. There is an important distinction between having light illuminate the retina, and understanding what is being seen. Color vision and perception across the animal kingdom is the subject of much ongoing research, as we have a very limited understanding of the many ways animals see.The dance of the honeybee has been researched extensively, so we have a relatively good understanding of the color vision of bees and related insects. Mosquitoes and flies have been studied because of their role in spreading diseases, and it has been

shown that they are attracted or repelled by specific surface colors, and by specific colored sources of light. Interestingly, the surface colors they prefer do not necessarily correlate with the light source colors that attract them.