Abstract
THE visual pigments of many amphibian larvae are mixtures of rhodopsin and porphyropsin, the latter usually, but not always, predominating1–3. During the metamorphic climax, the porphyropsin is wholly discarded and the rhodopsin emerges as the characteristic pigment of the adult retina. I describe here a hitherto unsuspected reaction of the larval retina: as in fishes4–8, the balance between rhodopsin and porphyropsin can be altered by exposure to light and darkness. The phenomenon does not seem to be connected with the metamorphic process.
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BRIDGES, C. Reversible Visual Pigment Changes in Tadpoles exposed to Light and Darkness. Nature 227, 956–957 (1970). https://doi.org/10.1038/227956a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/227956a0
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