Proposed Functional Architecture of the Balaena Mysticetus Retina (IMAGE)

Florida Institute of Technology

Proposed Functional Architecture of the Balaena Mysticetus Retina

Caption

Cone somata and pedicles may have been conserved to maintain an alternative rod photoreceptor signaling pathway. Three distinct rod signaling pathways may increase the sensitivity range of rod-based vision in balaenid whales. 1: The classical, most light-sensitive, rod pathway; 2: the rod-cone coupling pathway capable of operating at intermediate light (i.e., mesopic) levels; 3: the cone bipolar cell pathway, which may support important processes of rod-based vision. Red arrows indicate synaptic information flow; yellow ovals indicate gap junctions. Retinal layers are indicated: outer nuclear layer (ONL), inner nuclear layer (INL), inner plexiform layer (IPL), and ganglion cell layer (GCL). Retinal cell types are indicated: rod (R), cone (C), rod bipolar cell (RBC), ON and OFF cone bipolar cells (CBC), AII type amacrine cell (AII), and ON or OFF retinal ganglion cell (RGC).

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Florida Institute of Technology

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Credit must be given to Florida Institute of Technology and Journal of Comparative Neurology.

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