Single-pass measurement of the optical quality of the opossum eye
Psychol. neurosci. (Impr.)
;
4(1): 7-9, Jan.-June 2011. ilus
Article
in English
| LILACS
| ID: lil-604529
ABSTRACT
This paper reports the results that are part of a series of experiments designed to evaluate aspects of the spatial resolution of the visual system of the opossum, Didelphis marsupialis aurita. This nocturnal marsupial presents a well-developed eye, displaying features that reflect specialization for operation at low levels of luminosity. The species was shown to be slightly myopic, a feature that may prove to be valuable because of the increased depth of field. Opossum visual acuity has been previously evaluated by means of determining the Contrast Sensitivity Function (CSF). The results indicate rather poor visual acuity compared with other nocturnal animals. In this paper, we describe the results obtained for the optical quality of the opossum's eye using a single-pass method. The results suggest that the opossum's optical system is capable of forming images that can be resolved when separated by an angular distance on the order of 6 minutes of arc.
Full text:
Available
Index:
LILACS (Americas)
Main subject:
Opossums
/
Contrast Sensitivity
/
Visual Acuity
Limits:
Animals
Language:
English
Journal:
Psychol. neurosci. (Impr.)
Journal subject:
Neurology
/
Psychology
Year:
2011
Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Brazil
Institution/Affiliation country:
Universidade Federal do Pará/BR
/
Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro/BR
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