Extraocular Vision in a Brittle Star Is Mediated by Chromatophore Movement in Response to Ambient Light (Current Biology)

Sumner-Rooney et al. report extraocular vision in a brittle star, Ophiocoma wendtii. Visual behavior is absent in O. pumila, despite its similar photoreceptor networks, as well as dark-adapted O. wendtii. The authors propose that chromatophores provide screening pigment in O. wendtii, conferring vision to a dispersed photoreceptor system.