Gross anatomical organisation and ultrastructure of day-and nighttime light-and dark-adapted eyes of the Mediterranean slipper lobster, Scyllarides latus, revealed that the retina of this crustacean reacts to different ambient light intensities with photomechanical changes, involving principally screening and reflecting pigments and that a circadian component controls full darkadaptation. Although similarities to the earlier investigated eyes of spiny and rock lobsters exist, one significant difference concerns the spindle shape of the adult slipper lobster rhabdom and the banded structure of the latter, caused by orthogonallyaligned layers of microvilli. The rhabdom structure
M07115; Online publication date 24 February 2009 Received 30 November 2007; accepted 21 February 2008of adult slipper lobsters thus resembles that of larval rock lobsters and suggests sensitivity to polarised light. The extensive clear-zone between dioptric and light-perceiving elements in the eye of the slipper lobster, the relatively large number of ommatidia and facet diameters of 90 µm, moreover, suggest that the slipper lobster eye is particularly suited for vision in a dimly lit environment and operates on the principle of "reflecting superposition optics". The position of the eyes on the head and the thick cornea are indicative of a need to protect the eyes against physical damage.
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