Researchers from the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, have published an article in the Current Biology, in which they have described that the red brittle star, called Ophiocoma wendtii, lacks eyes but can still see.
- A cousin of the starfish, O. wendtii resides in the coral reefs of the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico.
- It is only the second creature known after sea urchin to be able to see without having eyes. This special process is known as extraocular vision.
- This species changes its color between day and night and is known for its strong aversion to light. Recently, researchers demonstrated that O. wendtii was covered in thousands of light-sensitive cells, but the exact behaviors they control remained a mystery.
- The new research shows that O. wendtii is able to see visual stimuli, and that its signature color-change might play an important role in enabling vision
