Abstract
THE retinae of the rudd contain more of the visual pigment VP1507 in the summer, but more of VP2535 in the winter1. The interconversion is shown to be governed by the local light environment2 since it can be effected in one of the two eyes by occluding it. Thus, light must act directly, and not, for example, by some humoral process. No action spectrum of the process is available for this species (but see ref. 3), an essential for the understanding of such phenomena4, but the fact that only relatively young members of this species can achieve the conversion2 is significant. Individuals seven years old or more keep VP2535 throughout the year. This “winter” pigment occurs in the retinae of young fish only after about one month's stay in the dark, or if the corresponding corneae are occluded.
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VILLERMET, G., WEALE, R. Age, the Crystalline Lens of the Rudd and Visual Pigments. Nature 238, 345–346 (1972). https://doi.org/10.1038/238345a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/238345a0
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