A new type of arthropod photoreceptor.
A new type of photoreceptor for the phylum Arthropoda, found in the class Collembola (Arthropoda, Hexapoda) is reported. This new light-sensitive structure consists of a pair of interocular vesicles present in the genus Vesicephalus Richards, 1964 and is anatomically related to the cluster of ommatidia. The absence of a lens, the presence of a rabdome in the upper part of the vesicle and the reflection and refraction of light by a hemolymph bubble with incidence to the rhabdomeric structure are the main traits of this new photoreceptor.
Jordana
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Department of Zoology and Ecology, University of Navarra, PO Box 177, 31080 Pamplona, Navarra, Spain.
Baquero
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Montuenga
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