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Extraocular magnetic compass in newts

Nature volume 400, pages 324–325 (1999)Cite this article

Abstract

Geomagnetic orientation is widespread among organisms, but the mechanism(s) of magnetoreception has not been identified convincingly in any animal1. In agreement with biophysical models proposing that the geomagnetic field interacts with photo-receptors2,3,4, changes in the wavelength of light have been shown to influence magnetic compass orientation in an amphibian, an insect and several species of birds (reviewed in ref. 5). We find that light-dependent magnetic orientation in the eastern red-spotted newt, Notophthalmus viridescens, is mediated by extraocular photoreceptors, probably located in the pineal complex or deeper in the brain (perhaps the hypothalamus).

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Figure 1: Effects of long-wavelength light and head caps on bimodal magnetic orientation in newts.

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Author notes

  1. M. E. Deutschlander

    Present address: Department of Biology, University of Victoria, P.O. Box 3020, Victoria, British Columbia, V8W 3N5, Canada

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, The Center for the Integrative Study of Animal Behavior, Indiana University, Bloomington, 47405, Indiana, USA

    S. C. Borland & J. B. Phillips

Authors
  1. M. E. Deutschlander
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  2. S. C. Borland
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  3. J. B. Phillips
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Deutschlander, M., Borland, S. & Phillips, J. Extraocular magnetic compass in newts. Nature 400, 324–325 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1038/22450

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