JEEPERS! THE BEST PEEPERS FROM DOWN UNDER (THE SEA!)

We think animals have some of the most interesting, unique, and coolest eyes! We especially found creatures under the sea have extraordinary eyes that help them in ways we can’t even imagine. Some are big or small, while others are just plain weird. We decided to do some research for you and come up with some of our favorites underwater eyes!

The Most Unique Pupil: The Cuttlefish

Cuttlefish have what we call a “W-shaped” pupil. It is believed to have originated as a form of the horizontal pupil that many other animals, such as goats, sheep and horses, sport. In low-light, the W pupil will open up into a more standard circular shape. However, when light is bright, this W shape pupil will allow light to enter the eye from many angles as a way to increase contrast and distance vision.

BEST CONTRAST: MANTIS SHRIMP

The mantis shrimp has eyes that are completely independent of each other, almost cartoon-like in a way. This allows them to see just about everywhere! They also can see twelve to sixteen different pigments that allows them to see an array of unique colors and contrast, whereas we have only a measly three pigments. The mantis shrimp is also the only animal to see circular polarized light!

BIGGEST EYES: COLOSSAL SQUID

We’ve heard the myths and the facts on colossal squid, but what it boils down to is that they are giant! With a body that can reach up to 45 feet in length, it is no wonder they hold the title of biggest eyes! Their eyes alone can be over 10 inches (imagine a football sized eye!). While this picture or any picture may not do it justice, we’re just going to take scientists’ word that it’s huge and hope we never get close enough to encounter it ourselves! Yikes!

BEST NIGHT VISION: Gigantocypris

The gigantocypris is a deep sea animal that actually never sees the light. It has two concave mirrors in each eye rather than a lens that help it to focus. On a side note, we think it is pretty crazy that it’s body is basically see-through so that you can see right into it’s eyes! We thought this picture helped to also show it’s tiny size and eyes that are rather large in proportion to the rest of it.

BEST MULTITASKER: COCK-EYED SQUID

The cock-eyed squid is quite the multitasker in that it has two completely different eyes in size, shape, color and function. On the bottom, it has one small, more tubular blue eye that has increased sensitivity to look below into deeper water, while it’s top yellow eye is bulging to better scan water above for prey. The bigger, yellow eye almost acts like night goggles in a way. It allows the animal to block out background light and better spot camouflaged targets.

BEST PERIPHERAL VISION: HAMMERHEAD SHARK

Sharks are one of our favorite underwater creatures! There are so many unique sharks like the cookie cutter or the wobbegong, but for the best peripheral vision, we have to turn to an original. Hammerhead sharks have eyes on the widest part of their flattened “hammer” head, also known as a cephalofoil. This allows the hammerhead a full 360 degrees of vision and the ability to see above and below at all times. Hammerheads also have 10 degrees of stereoscopic vision straight ahead of them to be more accurate in obtaining dinner!

BEST KALEIDOSCOPE EYES: Four-Eyed Fish

We’re sure there is a joke in there somewhere about this fish wearing glasses because these fish actually do have FOUR eyes! The four-eyed fish always has the top eyes above water as they float around. They have a flattened lens on top that sticks out of water, giving them excellent distance vision above water to spot prey. The lens underneath water is more rounded and more similar to that of other fish. Almost like a kaleidoscope that allows you to see multiple images though, because of their four eyes, these animals actually see four images!

We had so much fun looking into all the different animal eyes and hope you enjoyed the trip under the sea as well! If we missed anything though, please leave us a comment. We would love to look into others!