VISION IN ARTHROPODA :

COMPOUND EYES

Structure
Prawn has one pair of black and hemispherical
eyes. Each eye is mounted on a short, movable
and two-jointed stalk, which is lodged in an
orbital notch at the base of rostrum. Each eye is
made of a large number of independent visual
elements or units, called ommatidia
(Gr., ommation, little eye). Such eyes are called
compound
eye
Corneal
facets

2-jointed
stalk

arthrodial
membrane

Fig. 19. Palaemnon. Compound eye.

facets
crystalline
'Cones

Cornea rhabdomes
basal
membrane
nerve
fibres
optic
ganglia
connective
tissue

dioptrical receptor optic muscles

region nerve
region
Fig. 20. Palaemon. L.s. of compound eye showing
anrangement of ommatidia.
318 Arthropoda : General Account
Cornea 3. Cone cells. Beneath the
corneagen cells
four elongated cone cells orcorneagen
vitrellae cells he
crystalline cone
constitute a transparent, homogeneous which
B cone. Inner ends of cone cells are long crystaline
and
-Cone cells or
The part of eye, fromcornea up to
ends of cone cells, is known as
tapering
extreme
Dioptrical
vitrellae
region, which focusses light upon
the dioptrical
Region the inner
sensitive part or receptor region of eye.
C
4. Rhabdome and retínal cells.
-iris pigment of cone cells lie upon an elongated,
Inner ends
spindle-shaned
rod. the rhabdome. It has a transversely striated
-retinal cells
appearance. Rhabdome is secreted and
A D
surrOunded
by a group of seven elongated retinal eellk
rhabdomes Rhabdome and retinal cells together form the
Receptor VE
Region -retinal pigment receptor region of eye. Inner ends of retinal cells
basal
rest upon a basal membrane beyond which they
membrane are continuous with sensory nerve fibres of optie
nerve fibres ganglia which are connected with brain by the
optic nerve.
Soptic ganglia 5. Chromatophores. Each ommatidium is cut
-opticnerve off from its neighbours by a sheath of movable,
amoeboid, dark pigment cells or chromatophores
which are arranged in two series. Outer series
Fig, 21. Palaemon. Histological strúcture of compound eye. lying along the cone cells is called iris pigment,
A. Two ommatidia in LS. (semi-diagrammatic).
B. T.S. of an ommatidium through cone cells. C. T.S. and inner series separating the rhabdomes is called
through basal ends of cone cells. D. T.S. through retinal retinal pigment. Amoeboid pigment cells take up
cells. different positions according to the variations in
the intensity of light.
the compound eyes. These are characteristic of
Arthropoda and do not occur elsewhere in the Mosaic Vision
animal kingdom. Al the ommatidia (about 2,500)
are arranged radially and are similar in structure, Working of compound eye is very complex. It s
each consisting of many cells arranged along its deficient in focussing ability and clarity of image.
central axis. Their description is as follows : But, such an eye is efficient for picking up moton
1. Cornea. The outermost convex and for peripheral vision, It functions as a very
layer of
eye forming cornea is the transparent cuticle. In on a
efficient organ for photo-reception. Mounted much
surface view, cornea exhibits a arge number of movable stalk, it can move on the head in
and
squares or facets by clearly visible lines, thus the same manner as the antenna of radar,
giving the appearance of a graph paper. In insect gives the animal almost vision. Each
360-degree
eyes, the facets are not squares but ommatidium is capable of producing a separate
Below each facet lies one ommatidium. hexagons. image of a small part of the object seen.
2. Corneagen cells. Each corneal facet Therefore, in prawns and other arthropods
thickens in the centre to form a biconvex corneal the object
possessing compound eyes, the image oflight
lens. Beneath the lens lie two
corneagen cells viewed consists of several dark and oftiny an
which are modified epidermal cells and secrete. a pieces or Spots, so that the total image Moving
new cornea as soon as the old one is cast off in object formed is a sort of a flat mosaic. effected
moulting. objects can thus be detected. The Vision
hnyl. (Genennl Avomt 319

light tnyN
00n0n

oryaBallno

dlstal plgmont
rhabdomo.
proximal
plgment
A B

Fig. 22. Palaemon. Diagrammatic representation of image formation by a compound

eye. A. Apposition image in bright light (day vision). B. Superposition image in
dim light (night vision).

i said to be mosasic vision because of its of their isolation from one another. In butterflies,
imilanty to mosaic art work. which are night-blind, the eyes are permanently
The nature of composite image formed varies set in this condition and are suited to see only
aoording to different intensities of light. Thus in bright light. The image formed by this type
NO Dypes of images are formed. This is made of eye is never very good. It functions best at
possible by the movement of pigment cells. short distances only. Thus, most arthropods are
1. Apposition image. In bright light (during always short-sighted.
davtime), the pigment cells spread in such a way 2. Superposition image. In dim light (during
that they completely isolate optically the adjacent night), the pigment cells migrate and become
ommatidia. No light can pass through from one separated into distal and proximal pigments, so
1isual unit to the other. In this condition the rays that the neighbouring ommatidia no longer remain
of light, which strike the cornea obliquely, are optically isolated but work in unison. In this
absorbed by the pigment cells without producing condition even oblique rays of light are capable
avisual effect. Only those rays of light which
of forming a point of image after passing through
lall perpendicularly upon the cornea, can travel a number of ommatidia in their way. As a
rough the ommatidium and reach the rhabdome result,
l0 1orm a point of image. As a result, the
an
overlapping of the adjacent points of image
occurs so that a continuous or
Complete image formed is a mosaic of several image is obtained. It is not sharp but superposition
Omponents placed in juxtaposition in which the gets some sort of idea of the
the animal
slightest movement is readily detected. In other in the surrounding. In someobjects moving about
Mords, each ommatidium responds to a fragment and fireflies, the eyes are insects, like moths
O the total field of vision and then
these this, so that they are well permanently set like
adapted to see at night
fragmentary
images are fitted together into a
gie general picture, It is known as a mosaic
but are day-blind.
The prawns, like most
arthropods, seem to
apposition image. Its sharpness depends upon adiust their eyes to fornm both types of
images
ie number of ommatidia involved and the degree according to the prevailing intensity of light.
320

The optic nerve carries impulses

(electro-chemical waves of energy) to the brain,
where they are interpreted and registered as an
upright mental image.

BODY WALL OF ARTHROPODS

Body wall, body covering, external skeleton,

exoskeleton or the integument are the various
names given to the outer layer of body which is
a unique feature of arthropods. It comprises of a
single layer of cells, the epidermis (hypodermis),
an internal basement
membrane and an external
cuticle secreted by the hypodermis. The cuticle, a
characteristic feature of arthropods, is thick, tough,
non-living and horny or chitinous and forms the
exoskeleton.

Epidermis
Epidermis also called hypodermis is the outer
cell layer of the
cell thick layer. arthropodan body wall. It is
The epidermal cells are one
together near their apices by zonulae held
lower down by gap adhaerens
junctions.
after a moult the cells may During and just
have lone
processes on the
outside, cytoplasmic
Hypodermis has a typical stout
membrane. The epidermal cells standbasement
basement on the
to which membrane. It forms a continuous sheet
of muscles can be attached. At the
altachment of muscles, the basement points
incase of
insects, is continuous with
the
membrane,
opicuticle
pigmentod endocuticle
procuticle epicuticle
layer
calcified
(procuticle)
:
layer
uncalcified exocuticle
layer