The vertebrate eye and its adaptive radiation [by] Gordon Lynn Walls.

Abstract

This treatise on comparative ophthalmology is written both for the layman and the specialist. Part 1 outlines the essentials of the vertebrate (human) eye, the histology and physiology of the vertebrate retina, and discusses scotopic and photopic vision. To this is added an account of the embryological and evolutionary genesis of the eye. Part 2 discusses the following topics: adaptations to arhythmic activity as seen in photomechanical retinal changes and in pupil mobility; adaptations to diurnal activity; adaptations to nocturnal activity; adaptations to space and motion; adaptations to media and substrates including aquatic and aerial vision; and adaptations to photic quality including color vision in animals, dermal color-changes, and coloration of the eye. Part 3 traces the history of the eye from the lowest to the highest living vertebrates. There is a 24-page bibliography and an index and glossary.