Lens optical properties in the eyes of large marine predatory teleosts

Abstract

The optical properties of the crystalline lenses were studied in a variety of large predatory teleosts (bony fishes) that forage in the open ocean, some of them at considerable depths. We found the first fish lenses that are free of measurable longitudinal spherical aberration, i.e., are perfectly monofocal, in contrast to the multifocal lenses that are typical for smaller fishes living close to the surface. In fact, none of the lenses investigated in this study were clearly multifocal. Most, but not all, of the lenses had long normalized focal lengths (focal length/lens radius) of up to 3.3 lens radii. A monofocal lens of long focal length, combined with spectrally suitably placed cone pigments, may be the optimal solution for vision of high spatial and spectral resolutions in a habitat where the available spectrum of light is limited.