Pupil dilation and visual field in the piked dogfish, Squalus acanthias

Abstract

The relatively large eye and pupil of the Piked Dogfish, Squalus acanthias, is visually arresting. However, knowledge of its basic visual characteristics lags far behind other areas in this generally well studied species. This study quantifies pupil dilation in a species that is naturally exposed to a broad range of light intensities and finds that the pupil area in the dark adapted state is 35.3% of the total eye area, an increase of 12.4% from the light adapted state. The anterior and posterior extents of the horizontal visual field are assessed and compared with both morphological and electrophysiological techniques and the results are integrated with the measured head yaw to derive the anterior convergence distance and blind area. The position of the eyes and the triangular, pointed snout of S. acanthias provides excellent anterior vision, which likely facilitates foraging upon its mobile prey.