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Journal of Experimental Biology, Vol 202, Issue 14 1931-1938, Copyright © 1999 by Company of Biologists

JOURNAL ARTICLES

The photoreceptors and visual pigments in the retina of a boid snake, the ball python (Python regius)

AJ Sillman, JK Carver and ER Loew
Section of Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior, Division of Biological Sciences, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA and Department of Biomedical Sciences and Section of Physiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell Univer.

The photoreceptors and visual pigments of Python regius were studied using microspectrophotometry and scanning electron microscopy. The retina contains rods and cones, with rods constituting at least 90 % of the photoreceptor population. The rods are of a single type with long, narrow outer segments and are tightly packed. The wavelength of maximum absorbance ( &lgr; max) of the visual pigment in the rods is in the region of 494 nm. Two distinct types of cone are present. The most common cone, with a stout but stubby outer segment, contains a visual pigment with &lgr; max at approximately 551 nm. A relatively rare cone, with a long, slender outer segment, contains an ultraviolet-sensitive visual pigment with &lgr; max at approximately 360 nm. All the visual pigments have chromophores based on vitamin A1. The results are discussed in relation to the behavior of P. regius.
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© The Company of Biologists Ltd 1999