Van Dover C L, Szuts E Z, Chamberlain S C, Cann J R
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Massachusetts 02543.
Nature. 1989 Feb 2;337(6206):458-60. doi: 10.1038/337458a0.
Rimicaris exoculata is a shrimp that swarms over high-temperature (350 degrees C) sulphide chimneys at Mid-Atlantic Ridge hydrothermal fields (3,600 m). This shrimp lacks an externally differentiated eye, having instead a pair of large organs within the cephalothorax immediately beneath the dorsal surface of the transparent carapace, connected by large nerve tracts to the supraesophageal ganglion. These organs contain a visual pigment with an absorption spectrum characteristic of rhodopsin. Ultrastructural evidence for degraded rhabdomeral material suggests the presence of photoreceptors. No image-forming optics are associated with the organs. We interpret these organs as being eyes adapted for detection of low-level illumination and suggest that they evolved in response to a source of radiation associated with the environment of hydrothermal vents.
鼓虾（Rimicaris exoculata）是一种虾类，聚集在中大西洋海岭热液区（3600米）高温（350摄氏度）的硫化物烟囱周围。这种虾没有外部明显分化的眼睛，取而代之的是在头胸部内一对位于透明甲壳背面正下方的大型器官，通过大的神经束与食管上神经节相连。这些器官含有一种视觉色素，其吸收光谱具有视紫红质的特征。横纹肌物质降解的超微结构证据表明存在光感受器。这些器官没有成像光学结构。我们将这些器官解释为适应于检测低水平光照的眼睛，并认为它们是为应对与热液喷口环境相关的辐射源而进化的。
