Why Aye-Ayes See Blue

The capacity for cone‐mediated color vision varies among nocturnal primates. Some species are colorblind, having lost the functionality of their short‐wavelength‐sensitive‐1 (SWS1) opsin pigment gene. In other species, such as the aye‐aye (Daubentonia madagascariensis), the SWS1 gene remains intact....

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:American journal of primatology 2012-03, Vol.74 (3), p.185-192
Main Authors: MELIN, AMANDA D., MORITZ, GILLIAN L., FOSBURY, ROBERT A. E., KAWAMURA, SHOJI, DOMINY, NATHANIEL J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adaptation, Biological
Animal genetics
Animals
Behavior, Animal
Color
Color Perception
color vision
Color Vision - genetics
Daubentonia
Evolution
Genes
Natural selection
nocturnal behavior
opsin
Optics
Pigments
Primates
Ravenala
Rod Opsins - genetics
scent marking
Sight
Species
Strepsirhini - physiology
Strepsirhini - psychology
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Summary:The capacity for cone‐mediated color vision varies among nocturnal primates. Some species are colorblind, having lost the functionality of their short‐wavelength‐sensitive‐1 (SWS1) opsin pigment gene. In other species, such as the aye‐aye (Daubentonia madagascariensis), the SWS1 gene remains intact. Recent studies focused on aye‐ayes indicate that this gene has been maintained by natural selection and that the pigment has a peak sensitivity (λmax) of 406 nm, which is ∼20 nm closer to the ultraviolet region of the spectrum than in most primates. The functional significance behind the retention and unusual λmax of this opsin pigment is unknown, and it is perplexing given that all mammals are presumed to be colorblind in the dark. Here we comment on this puzzle and discuss recent findings on the color vision intensity thresholds of terrestrial vertebrates with comparable optics to aye‐ayes. We draw attention to the twilight activities of aye‐ayes and report that twilight is enriched in short‐wavelength (bluish) light. We also show that the intensity of twilight and full moonlight is probably sufficient to support cone‐mediated color vision. We speculate that the intact SWS1 opsin pigment gene of aye‐ayes is a crepuscular adaptation and we report on the blueness of potential visual targets, such as scent marks and the brilliant blue arils of Ravenala madagascariensis.
ISSN:0275-2565
1098-2345
DOI:10.1002/ajp.21996