Vision in hydrothermal vent shrimp

Bresiliid shrimp from hydrothermal vents on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge have non -imaging eyes adapted for photodetection in light environments of very low intensity. Comparison of retinal structures between both vent shrimp and su rface-dwelling shrimp with imaging eyes, and between juvenile and adult ven t shrimp, suggests that vent shrimp have evolved from ancestors that lived in a light environment with bright cyclic lighting. Whether the vent shrimp live in swarms and have large dorsal eyes or live in sparse groupings and have large anterior eyes, the basic retinal adaptations are the same across species. Retinal adaptations in adult vent shrimp include the loss of diop trics, enlargement of both the rhabdomeral segment of the photoreceptors an d the light-sensitive rhabdomere therein, attenuation of the arhabdomeral s egment of the photoreceptors, reduction of black screening pigment, develop ment of a white diffusing layer behind the photoreceptors, and the loss of rhabdom turnover.