Lungfishes are the closest living relatives of the ancestors to all terrestrial vertebrates and have remained relatively unchanged since the early Lochkovin period (410 mya). Lungfishes, therefore, represent a critical stage in vertebrate evolution and their sensory neurobiology is of considerable interest. This study examines the ultrastructure of the retina of two species of lungfishes: the South American lungfish, Lepidosiren paradoxa and the spotted African lungfish, Protopterus dolloi in an attempt to assess variations in photoreception in these two ancient groups of sarcopterygian (lobe-finned) fishes. In juvenile P. dolloi, the retina contains one rod and two cone photoreceptor types (one containing a red oil droplet), while only one rod and one cone photoreceptor type is present in adult L. paradoxa. Both species lack double cones. The large size and inclusion of oil droplets in both species apart from one of the cone photoreceptor types in P. dolloi suggests that L. paradoxa and P. dolloi are adapted for increasing sensitivity. However, the complement of photoreceptor types suggests that there may be a major difference in the capacity to discriminate color (dichromatic and monochromatic photoreception in P. dolloi and L. paradoxa, respectively). This study suggests that the visual needs of these two species may differ.
Lungfishes are large, freshwater, lobe-finned fishes that have the ability to breathe both dissolved and atmospheric oxygen through gills and "primitive" lungs, respectively. Six species of lungfishes remain worldwide; four in Africa (Protopterus spp.), one in South America (Lepidosiren paradoxa) and one in Australia (Neoceratous forsteri). Lungfishes are the closest living descendants of the ancestors of all terrestrial vertebrates, and are vital to the study of the evolution of vision in tetrapods because of their association with animals that made the remarkable transition from water onto land. This unique interdisciplinary study explores the visual perception and experience of lungfishes through biological science and visual art, while also tracing the history of human cultural interactions with this significant animal. Scientific data generated through anatomical, electrophysiological and behavioural experimentation contributes to the emerging field of lungfish visual ecology, and artistic research provides a more sensorial speculation of the lungfish visual experience in order to reflect on how we (humans) produce knowledge of non-humans and the limitations of these methods. To begin, a cultural history of non-human animal visual perception is investigated to understand and acknowledge the limitations of technologies and our anthropocentric perception of reality. Human narratives from the nineteenth century to present day are traced to reveal the similarities and differences in previous attempts to uncover nonhuman animal perceptual capabilities, with a particular focus on Jakob von Uexküll and his concept of the Umwelt. A collaborative art project titled 'Inperception' (2012) that endeavoured to interpret the Umwelten of Australian lungfishes through contemporary scientific knowledge and art is discussed as a case study.
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