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Vidal, O. (1995). Population biology and exploitation of the vaquita Phocoena sinus. In “ Biology of the Phocoenids ” (A. Bjørge and G. P. Donovan, eds), Rep. Int. Whal. Commn Spec. Iss. 16, 247–272.

Vidal , O. , Brownell , R. L. , Jr , and Findley , L. T. ( 1999 ). Vaquita. Phocoena sinus. Norris and McFarland, 1958 . In “ Handbook of Marine Mammals ” ( S. H. Ridgway , and R. Harrison , eds ) , Vol. 6 , pp. 357 – 378 . Academic Press , San Diego .

Vision ALLA M. MASS AND ALEXANDER YA. SUPIN

The vision of marine mammals has a number of specifi c fea-tures associated with its ability to function in both water and air. Although many marine mammals (cetaceans, sirenians)

spend their entire life in water, their aerial breathing confi nes them to a near-surface layer of water. Other marine mammals (pinnipeds, sea otters) spend a signifi cant part of their life on land. As a result, the organization of their visual system fi ts requirements of both these different media. Although some aspects of organization of the visual system of marine mammals still remain unstudied, many features of their vision are known already.

I. Visual Abilities of Marine Mammals A. Cetaceans

It was long believed that dolphins—animals with excellent hear-ing and echolocation—have a poorly developed visual system playing a minor role in their life. However, observations of the visual activ-ity of dolphins have demonstrated the opposite. The ability to catch fi sh in air, perform precisely aimed jumps to reach targets above the water, and recognize their trainers all show that vision in dolphins is well developed. In conditions of keeping in captivity, dolphins decrease their use of echolocation and, as their interest in events above the water increases, vision takes on a leading role.

Reviews of Madsen and Herman (1980) and Mobley and Helweg (1990) summarize observations of dolphins in captivity and experi-mental studies which provide a basis for regarding the vision of dol-phins as playing an important role in various aspects of their life: in social interactions, discrimination between individuals and species based on their colors and individual marks, the search and discrimi-nation of prey, orientation, reproductive activity, and defense. Only vision provides the ability for rapid and precise assessment of dis-tances to objects in air where echolocation does not operate.

Apart from numerous observations, good visual abilities of ceta-ceans were demonstrated in behavioral experiments for assessing their visual acuity. Precise behavioral measurements performed by Herman and colleagues ( Madsen and Herman, 1980 ) on the bot-tlenose dolphin resulted in an estimate of underwater visual acuity of 8.2 arcmin (at the best distance of 1 m) and aerial visual acuity of 12.5 arcmin (at distances of 2.5 m and longer). In general, estimates of visual acuity in dolphins varied from 8 to 27 arcmin in water and from 12 to 18 arcmin in air.

Studies of color vision in cetaceans are very few in number. Only one cone type was found in the bottlenose dolphin, with the best sensitivity at 525 nm; rods are best sensitive to 488 nm. These sen-sitivity peaks are considerably blue-shifted as compared to those of

many terrestrial mammals ( Jacobs, 1993 ). Therefore, the dolphin lacks the common dichromatic vision typical of many terrestrial mammals, which is based on two cone types with different chromatic sensitivity. If color vision is present in dolphins (based on comparison of signals from rods and cones), it is poorly developed and limited to a blue–green region of the spectrum.

In all cetaceans, the eyes are positioned laterally, thus providing a visual fi eld as wide as 120–130° and panoramic vision. Although positioned laterally, the eyes are directed somewhat forward and downward (ventronasally). On viewing visual objects in air, the dol-phin eyes can move forward by 10–15 mm, so that the visual fi elds of the two eyes overlap by 20–30° in the frontal sector, giving a basis for binocular vision. However, uncrossed optic fi bers have not yet been demonstrated in dolphins. Therefore, the existence of true binocular (stereoscopis) vision (based on interaction of crossed and uncrossed optic fi bers) in dolphins still remains under question.

Dolphins are equally capable of the perception of complex con-fi gurations of objects using both vision and echolocation. Besides, there is also a possibility of intermodal transfer between these two modalities: objects known for a dolphin only by visual appearance can be discriminated and recognized by echolocation, and vice versa. The intermodal transfer is equally successful when visual experience is used for echolocation discrimination and when echolocation expe-rience is used for visual discrimination.

Even in riverine cetaceans inhabiting turbid and low-transparent water (the Amazon river dolphin Inia geoffrensis , the tucuxi dolphin Sotalia fl uviatilis ), the visual system does not exhibit a signifi cant regression. The only exception is the Indian river dolphin, Platanistagangetica , in which the visual system is reduced markedly.

B. Pinnipeds Because pinnipeds spend their life partially in water and par-

tially on land, they use both underwater and aerial vision. On land, vision plays an important role during the reproductive period, during birth and feeding of pups, and for maintaining intrapopulation rela-tionships, as well as for orientation. In water, vision is used for prey detection and recognition, avoiding predators, and spatial orientation during migrations.

Because of a great diversity of pinniped species in terms of sys-tematic position and ecology, the role of vision diverges widely as well. Walruses ( Odobenus rosmarus ) rely mainly on their vibrissal sensitiv-ity to identify objects during benthic foraging. Other pinnipeds also have a well-developed vibrissal apparatus; however, in aquatic condi-tions, most seals use both visual and tactile modalities to search for food. Experiments demonstrated that seals are capable to distinguish rather small objects visually, recognize the shape of fi gures, and per-form a complex analysis of visual images. Data summarized by Fobes and Smock (1981) shows that both otariids and phocids are capable of discriminating objects differing in size from 9% to 24%.

Most pinnipeds (both otariids and phocids) have maximum spec-tral sensitivity within a range of 496–500 nm. An exception is the southern elephant seal ( Mirounga leonina ), which is sensitive to a shorter wavelength (486 nm).

A possibility of limited color discrimination in a few pinniped spe-cies ( Pagophilus groenlandicus , Phoca largha , Arctocephalus pusillus , A. australis , Zalophus californianus ) is indicated by their capability to discriminate blue and green objects from gray ones, although they cannot discriminate red and gray objects. The best rod sensitivity in the harbor seal ( Phoca vitulina ) was found at 496 nm, and cone sen-sitivity at 510 nm; i.e., similarly to dolphins, the spectral sensitivity is

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blue-shifted as compared to terrestrial mammals. No indication was obtained of more than one cone type in pinnipeds (see Section IV.A).

Measurements of visual acuity based on the use of grids as test stimuli have demonstrated that visual acuity in both water and air is 5–8 arcmin in a few otariide species: Zalophus californianus , Eumetopias jubatus , Arctocephalus pusillus , and A. australis , Phocavitulina.

C. Other Marine Mammals

1 . Sirenians Little is known of the visual capabilities in sirenians. A few observations summarized by Piggins et al. (1983) showed that the Amazon manatee ( Trichechus inunguis ) is capable of visually driven behavior, in particularly, visual tracking of underwater objects. Recently underwater visual acuity was assessed in the Caribbean manatee Trichechus manatus as rather poor—from 24 to 56 min of arc, depend-ing on the test gain orientation and media. A capability of this species for dichromatic (blue–green) color vision has been shown. It remains unknown whether the manatee has an ability of good aerial vision.

2 . Sea Otters Very little is known of the visual abilities of sea otters ( Enhydra lutris ). Inhabiting the coastal zone and feeding under water, sea otters need to have good vision in both air and water. Observations showed that they actively use vision, and experi-ments have shown their capability to discriminate objects of differ-ent sizes. However, quantitative behavioral measurements of their visual abilities are absent.

II. Eye Anatomy and Optics A. Cetaceans

Ocular anatomy in cetaceans is markedly different from that in terrestrial mammals by being adjusted to optical properties of water and to a number of other factors: possibility of eye damage because of high density of water and presence of suspended parti-cles, low temperature and low illumination deep in water, signifi cant light scatter, and so on. Characteristic examples of eye structure in cetaceans are shown in Fig. 1 . Remarkable features are a thick sclera (especially so in whales, Fig. 1B ), a thickened cornea, a highly developed vascular network forming a typical vascular rete mirabiliawhich fi lls a signifi cant part of the orbit behind the eyeball, and mas-sive ocular muscles. All these structures take part in protecting the eye from underwater cooling and mechanical damage.

Although in terrestrial mammals the eyeball is almost spherical, in cetaceans its anterior part is fl attened, so as the anterior cham-ber is small and the eyecup is of almost a hemispherical shape. More precisely, the eyecup shape approximates a segment of a sphere of about 150° of arc ( Fig. 1A,B ), and its naso-temporal diameter slightly exceeds the dorsoventral one.

In terrestrial mammals, the convex outer surface of the cornea is the major refractive element of the eye because it separates media with different refractive indices: air with a refractive index of about 1 and the corneal tissue with a refractive index of more than 1.35. However, the refractive index of water is 1.33–1.34, which is very close to that of the cornea and the intraocular media. As a result, the

Figure 1 Schematic presentation of eye anatomy and optics in some cetaceans: (A) the bottlenose dolphin, (B) the gray whale , and (C) the Amazon river dol-phin. Co, cornea; L, lens; Ir, iris; O, operculum; S, sclera; Ch, choroids; R, ret-ina; ON, optic nerve; OD, optic disc; VB, vitreous body. Arrows 1 and 2 delimit a part of the eyecup, which can be approximated by a spherical segment of about 150°. Arrows 3 and 4 show directions of light rays passing through the nasal and temporal holes of the pupil and through the lens center to the high-resolution parts of the retina.

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corneal surface plays very little part in underwater light refraction. Therefore, in cetaceans, light refraction and focusing of an image on the retina are almost entirely performed by the lens. This is why the lens in cetaceans is almost spherical or slightly elliptical. The large curvature of the lens surface provides a suffi ciently high refractive power of the lens and well-focused images on the retina, despite very weak refractive power of the corneal surface in water. These optics are similar to those in fi sh, which is not surprising given that in both cases the eye is adjusted to optical properties of the same medium.

A strongly convex (spherical) lens consisting of homogeneous material have a very strong spherical aberration. The cetacean lens is free of this disadvantage due to a heterogeneous structure: outer layers have a lower refractive index than the inner core.

In the cetacean eye, the spherical lens is located in such a way that its center almost coincides with the center of the spherical seg-ment of the eyecup; so light rays coming from any direction are focused almost identically on the retina. This is signifi cantly different from the case in terrestrial mammals, which provides the best focus-ing on the eye axis.

In terrestrial mammal eyes, accommodation (refraction adjustment to the distance to the object) is performed by change in the shape of the lens due to contraction and relaxation of ciliary muscles. In ceta-ceans, spherical lens shape and center-symmetric optics of the eye led to loss of this accommodatory mechanism. The ciliary muscles are poorly developed in dolphins and are absent from most whales sug-gesting that accommodation cannot be achieved by changing the lens shape. It has been suggested that accommodation in cetaceans is per-formed by another mechanism, namely by axial displacement of the lens due to changes in intraocular pressure. Intraocular pressure can change because of contraction of the massive the massive retractor muscle ( m. retractor bulbi ) which produces axial displacements of the eye in the orbit. When the eye is pulled back into the orbit, intraocu-lar pressure increases, thus shifting the lens forward; when the eye is moved forward, the pressure decreases shifting the lens backward.

The cornea in cetaceans is thicker than in many terrestrial mam-mals, and this thickness is not uniform: the cornea is thinner in the center and thicker in the periphery. Although major refraction in the cetacean eye is performed by the lens, the refractive role of the cornea is not negligible. Its outer surface is of lower curvature than the inner one; i.e., the cornea has a shape of a divergent lens. Under water, this lens makes minor contribution to the total refraction power, as the media on both sides of the cornea (water outside and the ante-rior chamber liquid inside) have refractive indices rather close to that of the cornea. However, some difference between the refractive indi-ces of water (1.33) and the cornea (from 1.37 in the central part to 1.53 in the periphery) does exist. Thus, the cornea acts as a weak but nonetheless divergent lens. The total refraction of the cornea and lens makes the cetacean eye well emmetropic within a range of � 1 diopt-ers under water.

Adaptation to underwater vision also affects the cetacean iris and pupil. The cetacean vision functions in conditions of wide and rapid changes of illumination when the animal dives from the well-illumi-nated water surface into the depth where illumination is very low. This requires the pupil to react in a wide range of illuminations and to have a wide range of sizes. The cetacean pupil is of an unusual shape. The upper part of the iris has a characteristic protuberance, the oper-culum. At low illumination, the operculum is contracted (raised), so the pupil, similarly to other mammals, is of a round or slightly oval shape; its horizontal diameter in dolphins is of about 10 mm ( Fig. 2A ). With illumination increase, the operculum advances downward, turn-ing the pupil into a U-shaped slit ( Fig. 2B ). At high illumination, the

operculum advances so far that the slit becomes closed, leaving only two narrow holes in the temporal and nasal parts of the iris ( Fig. 2C ). This pupil shape is characteristic for many dolphins, including the bottlenose dolphin Tursiops truncatus , harbor porpoise Phocoena phocoena , common dolphin Delphinus spp., tucuxi dolphin Sotalia fl u-viatilis , and also for a number of whales, although in some whales the operculum is small. A known exception is the Amazon river dolphin which has a round pupil even when it is constricted.

The cetacean eye is well emmetropic in water; however, in air refraction on the outer convex corneal surface adds to the lens refraction. The difference of refractive indices of air and the cornea results in signifi cant refractive power of the central, the most convex part of the corneal surface: about 20 diopters. The addition of this refraction to the emmetropic lens refraction should make the ceta-cean eye catastrophically myopic (near-seeing) in air. Nonetheless, dolphins have good visual acuity in both water and air.

The solution of the problem is in the presence of fl attened (low-curvature) regions of the cornea. A fl at corneal surface does not pro-duce additional refraction in air. Even if the surface is not truly fl at but a little convex, its refractive power becomes low enough and may be compensated by some additional mechanisms. Keratoscopic stud-ies in common bottlenose dolphins showed a “ spoon ” shape of the cornea with lower curvature in its nasal and temporal regions.

Aerial myopia can be partially compensated by accommodatory displacements of the lens. For aerial vision, the dolphin eye moves forward thus producing decrease of intraocular pressure; this results in shifting the lens backward and reduced myopia. Additionally, reduction of intraocular pressure decrease the curvature of the cor-nea. Under water, the eye is retracted into the orbit, which results in increased intraocular pressure and a shift of the lens forward to a position providing underwater emmetropia.

An additional mechanism for the correction of aerial myopia is pupil constriction. Above water, high illumination results in strong pupil constriction; the latter corrects all errors of refraction, includ-ing aerial myopia, and provides fairly good depth of fi eld.

Another adaptation of the cetacean eye to low underwater illu-mination is the well-developed refl ective layer, the tapetum ( tape-tum lucidum ). It lies behind the retinal pigment epithelium within the choroid. In cetacean, the tapetum is formed with extracellular collagen fi brils ( tapetum fi brosum ). Multiple refl ection of light from 50–70 layers of fi brils results in signifi cant light refl ection back to the retina, thus increasing visual sensitivity in scotopic conditions.

The tapetum is present in all cetaceans. In most of the investigated cetaceans, particularly in mysticete whales, it covers all of the fundus (although varies in coloration), or at least it covers a large dorsal part of the fundus. Complete coverage of the fundus by the tapetum is

Figure 2 Shape of the pupil in the bottlenose dolphin at vari-ous levels of illumination: (A) low illumination, nonconstricted oval pupil; (B) moderate illumination, partially constricted U-shaped pupil; and (C) high illumination, strongly constricted pupil reduced to two pinholes.

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unique among vertebrates: in terrestrial mammals, the tapetum usu-ally does not extend lower than the horizontal equator of the eyecup.

B. Pinnipeds In all pinnipeds (except walruses), both the absolute and the rela-

tive sizes of the eyeball are large. Eye structure in pinnipeds ( Fig. 3A ), despite signifi cant differences from cetaceans, has some common features arising from adaptation to underwater vision ( Jamieson and Fisher, 1972 ). In particular, a characteristic feature is an almost spher-ical or slightly elliptical lens. Although the eyeball does not appear as shortened in the axial direction, a major part of the eyecup has a shape close to a hemisphere, so a signifi cant part of the retina is almost con-stantly distant from the lens center. Thus, the eye optics, like in ceta-ceans, is almost centrally symmetrical. The difference between the eyeball shape in cetaceans and pinnipeds (shorter axial length in ceta-ceans and longer in pinnipeds) is mainly due to larger size of the ante-rior chamber in pinnipeds.

Iris in pinnipeds is very muscular and heavily vascularized. The dilator is well developed. Most pinnipeds have a pupil which being constricted becomes pear-shaped. Pupil size can change over a very wide range; at bright illumination, it constricts to a very small hole. In shallow-diving species, the range of pupillary area variation is rather small: 26–70.5 times. In a deep diver, the northern elephant seal, Mirounga angustirostris , the pupil area varied within an extremely wide range, from 422 mm 2 in dark-adapted conditions to a pinhole of 0.9 mm 2 in light-adapted conditions, i.e., almost 470 times.

The ciliary muscle in pinnipeds is well developed, although accommodation is either absent or very weak.

Unlike cetaceans, the central part of the cornea has a clearly delim-ited region (6–10 mm in diameter) of almost a fl at surface. It is located near the center of the cornea, slightly shifted to the nasal direction (FC region in Fig. 3A ). Such a fl at region of the cornea was found in a number of both otariids and phocids and was demonstrated by precise measurements on the Californian sea lion ( Zalophus californianus ). The fl at region of the cornea serves as an emmetropic “ window ” in which refraction remains almost equal in both water and air. In another pinniped, the hooded seal ( Cystophora cristata ), the fl attened part of the cornea does not look like a delimited region but arises because of low curvature of the cornea of the extremely large eyeball.

The existence of a fl at region in the central part of the cornea indicates a very specifi c principle of eye construction in pinnipeds. Indeed, the convex shape of the cornea in most animals is a con-sequence of excessive intraocular pressure, which is necessary for maintaining the shape and size of the eyeball. Direct data on intraoc-ular pressure in pinnipeds are absent, but their fl at cornea suggests that this pressure is very low, perhaps about zero. Anatomical obser-vations on the northern fur seal ( Callorhinus ursinus ) showed that its vitreous body is of a rigid rather than a gelatinous consistency, thus taking a part in maintenance of the eyeball shape and dimensions. This way of maintaining the eye shape is evidently used in a number of pinniped species.

The pinniped tapetum is one of the best developed among both terrestrial and aquatic mammals. Contrary to the tapetum fi brosum

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Figure 3 Schematic presentation of eye anatomy and optics in some repre-sentatives of pinnipeds, sirenians, and otters: (A) the northern fur seal; (B) the manatee; (C) the sea otter. Co, cornea; FC, fl attened region of the cornea; L, lens; Ir, iris; S, sclera; Ch, choroids; R, retina; ON, optic nerve; OD, optic disc; P, lens protuberance; VB, vitreous body.

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in cetacean, the tapetum in pinnipeds is formed with intracellular refl ective rodlets (tapetum cellulosum). It consists of a large number (20–30 or more) of cell layers and covers all the fundus.

C. Other Marine Mammals

1. Sirenians Among other marine mammals, the eye anatomy of the manatee ( Trichechus manatus and T. inunguis ) is of interest as an example of the order Sirenia, which, apart of cetaceans, is the only group of completely aquatic mammals.

Both in Trichechus manatus and in T. inunguis the eye is rather small (13–19 mm diameter) and is set deeply within the ocular fascia. Its general morphology resembles more that of terrestrial mammals than the cetacean eye ( Fig. 3B ). The eyeball is almost spherical (the axial length differs little from the equatorial diameter), the anterior chamber is shallow, and the lens is set forward and is not true spheri-cal: its axial dimension is markedly shorter than the diameter. The sclera is rather thin. Thus, despite of completely aquatic mode of life of the manatee, its eye anatomy exhibits a number of conserv-ative features ( Piggins et al. , 1983 ). Underwater, the eye is almost emmetropic or slightly hyperopic, but in air it is strongly myopic. It remains unknown whether the manatee has some mechanisms to compensate aerial myopia; thus, its capability to aerial vision remains unknown.

A distinctive feature of the manatee’s eye is the vascularized cor-nea which in all other mammals is pathology.

2 . Sea otters To a large extent, the eyeball of the sea otter (Enhydra lutris ) is similar to those of terrestrial mammals ( Fig. 3C ):it is almost spherical, axial length is only a little shorter than the diameter. Contrary to spherical lenses of cetaceans and pinnipeds, the lens of sea otter is lenticular. However, the front surface of the lens has a protuberance of increased curvature. A characteristic fea-ture of the eye anatomy is that the iris is fastened to the frontal lens surface. Therefore, contraction of iris muscles infl uence the curva-ture of the frontal lens surface. This mechanism is capable of provid-ing an accommodation range of up to 60 diopters, thus compensating for the appearance of refraction at the corneal surface in air and its disappearance in water. This accommodation mechanism in the sea otter eye is able to preserve emmetropia in both air and water.

III. Eye Movements All dolphins and whales have mobile eyes. However, measure-

ments in the bottlenose dolphin indicated that eye mobility is less than in humans, and eye movements are more slow.

Oculomotor muscles are well developed in dolphins and whales; an exception is the Ganges river dolphin ( Platanista gangetica ), which has reduced eyes and no oculomotor muscles. Other cetaceans have a complete set of muscles known in mammals: four straight and two oblique muscles. These muscles allow eye movements in both the horizontal and the vertical directions. In addition, unlike terres-trial mammals, cetaceans have retractor muscle ( m. retractor bulbi ), which produce axial (in/out) movements of the eye in the orbit. The bottlenose dolphin is capable of moving its eye forward to 10–15 mm and pulling it back. As a rule, forward eye movements (protraction) appear when the dolphin examines an object in air visually. These eye movements may be used for binocular examination of objects. As mentioned earlier, the eye protraction in air can also provide accom-modation to avoid the aerial myopia.

Another intriguing feature of oculomotor activity in dolphins is the ability to move the left and right eyes independently. Quantitative

measurements in dolphins have shown that correlation of movements of the left and the right eyes are very low; i.e., independent eye move-ments in dolphins are a rule rather than exception.

In addition to independent eye movements, cetaceans have rather independent pupil refl exes of the two eyes. Moreover, eyelids of the left and the right eyes can also function independently, so one eye can be open while the other is closed. Such observations were made during sleep in dolphins, although similar behavior is also possible in wakefulness: dolphins can swim for long periods with one eye open and the other one closed, with the left and the right eye alternating.

As to pinnipeds and sea otters, there is no signifi cant difference from terrestrial mammals in their oculomotor muscle anatomy and the character of eye movements.

IV. The Retina and Optic Nerve A . Features of the Retina in

Cetaceans The histological structure of the retina has been investigated

in a number of cetacean species: the common bottlenose dolphin, short-beaked common dolphin ( Delphinus delphis ), Dall’s porpoise (Phocoenoides dalli ), dwarf sperm whale ( Kogia sima ), Amazon river dolphin ( Inia geoffrensis ), fi n whale ( Balaenoptera physalus ), and common minke whale ( B. acutorostrata ). All of these studies have shown that the laminal structure of the cetacean retina is basically sim-ilar to that in terrestrial mammals. The retina consists of typical layers as follows ( Fig. 4A ). The receptor layer (the nearest to the pigment epithelium) is composed of densely packed outer segments of pho-toreceptors. The outer nuclear layer is composed of receptor pericaria arranged in a multilevel manner. The outer plexiform layer contains cell processes establishing connections between receptors and fi rst-order neurons, bipolar cells. The inner nuclear layer is composed mostly of pericaria of bipolar cells; in addition, this layer contains horizon-tal and amacrine cells, which establish horizontal connections within the outer and inner plexiform layers. The inner plexiform layer con-tains processes establishing connections between bipolar and ganglion cells. The ganglion layer contains ganglion cells sending their axons to the optic nerve. Finally, the nerve fi ber layer (nearest to the vitre-ous body) contains optic fi bers (axons of ganglion cells), which spread along the inner retinal surface until they reach the optic disk and enter the optic nerve. This laminar structure of the retina is fully devel-oped in all cetaceans. Even in the Ganges river dolphin with strongly reduced eyes, the retina contains all the layers. Being basically simi-lar in cetaceans and terrestrial mammals, the retina has a number of specifi c features in cetaceans. It is markedly thicker than in terrestrial mammals, ranging from 370 to 425 μ m (in terrestrial mammals, the retina is 110–240 μ m thick).

The most detailed description of the retina is available for the common bottlenose dolphin ( Dral, 1977 ; Dawson, 1980 ). Its retinal receptor layer consists predominantly of rods (receptors for achro-matic vision). The question of the existence of cones (chromatic-vision receptors) in cetaceans remained debatable for some time. Recent studies of visual pigments have shown that the cetacean ret-ina does contain cone receptors, however rods dominate: cone pro-portion is in the range of 1–2% ( Peichl et al. , 2001 ).

Contrary to the majority of terrestrial mammals which have two types of cones with different pigments providing color vision (short-wave sensitive S-opsin and middle-to-long-wave sensitive L-opsin), only L-opsin containing cones were found in 10 species of odon-tocetes the cetacean retina. S-opsin have not been reported ( Peichlet al. , 2001 ). This corresponds to behavioral data showing poor color

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vision in dolphins (see Section I.A). As to amacrine, bipolar, and hor-izontal cells in the cetacean retina, they are generally similar to those in terrestrial mammals.

A marked difference from terrestrial mammals is in the inner plexiform layer and the ganglion layer of the cetacean retina. The ganglion layer looks like a single row of large, sparsely distributed neurons separated by large intercellular spaces. These neurons have large cell bodies with a clearly defi ned cell membrane, large amount of cytoplasm, a well visible nucleus up to 15 μ m in diameter, and clearly defi ned nucleolus 4–5 μ m in diameter. Cell bodies contain clearly visible, well stained Nissl granules.

A remarkable feature of the cetacean retina is large size of gan-glion cells, particularly, the presence of giant ganglion cells. Bodies of such cells reach 75–80 μ m, sometimes more. Giant ganglion cells were described in a number of odontocete species and in a few mysticete whales. In some dolphins, however, retinal ganglion cells do not reach giant sizes: in the Amazon river dolphin and the Indian river dolphin they do not exceed 40–42 and 20 μ m, respectively. However, even these cells are as large as compared to those in many other mammals. The smallest ganglion cells in cetaceans are as large as 10 μ m.

Figure 5A,B present ganglion cell size distributions in the retina of the common bottlenose dolphin. The histograms represent samples in different parts of the retina: with high and low concentration of gan-glion cells. Despite some difference between the samples (in the area of high cell concentration, cells are a little smaller than in the area of low concentration), both samples demonstrate large cell sizes: the most common size is 20–35 μ m, but cells as large as 50–60 μ m are also present; there are no cells smaller than 10 μ m.

Large cells are not characteristic of all levels of the visual sys-tem in cetaceans (the lateral geniculate body, visual cortex); they are typical only in the retina. The largest pyramidal cells in the visual area of the dolphin cerebral cortex are not more than 20–30 μ m. In other parts of the dolphin brain, cells do not exceed 20–45 μ m either. There is presently no satisfactory explanation why ganglion cells in the cetacean retina are so large. One of possible explanations is that large ganglion cells have thick axons with high velocity of conduc-tion; in a large body, it may be helpful for fast transmission of signals. However, large terrestrial mammals (e.g., the bull or the elephant) have ganglion cells not larger than 25–30 μ m.

Apart from large cell sizes, a characteristic feature of the retinal ganglion layer in cetaceans is low cell density. The large neurons are separated by large intercellular spaces.

The question of separation of retinal ganglion cells into different morphological types has not been solved for cetaceans. Large-size gan-glion cells in cetaceans resemble large Y-neurons in the visual system of terrestrial mammals, as opposed to smaller X-neurons. However, Y-neurons in terrestrial mammals constitute no more than 1% of gan-glion cells, whereas in cetaceans, large ganglion cells predominate.

B. Optic Nerve Structure in Cetaceans

Retinal ganglion cells send their axons into the optic nerve. Consistent with the large sizes of ganglion cell bodies, the axon diam-eters in cetaceans are also greater than in terrestrial mammals. In a variety of dolphin species, a signifi cant proportion of optic fi bers exceed 15 μ m in diameter. For comparison, the maximum fi ber diam-eter in cats and in monkeys, is no more than 8 μ m. The only exception is the Chinese river dolphin Lipotes vexillifer , which has thin optic fi b-ers, although its retina contains ganglion cells as large as 75 μ m.

The low density of ganglion cells in the retina of cetaceans cor-responds to the low density of fi bers in the optic nerve. In cross sec-tions of the optic nerve of dolphins, the density of fi bers is less than 50,000/mm2 , whereas in monkeys it exceeds 220,000/mm 2 . Thus, although the optic nerve in cetaceans is of a large diameter, the total number of optic fi bers does not exceed than in many terrestrial mammals. More than 50% of the cross-section area of the cetacean optic nerve is occupied by intercellular space (contrary to 12–20% in terrestrial mammals), not by glia.

The total number of optic fi bers varies among cetacean species. The smallest number of fi bers (14,000–16,000) was found in the Indian river dolphin, Platanista gangetica , and the Amazon river dol-phin, Inia geoffrensis ; the number of optic fi bers in the Chinese river dolphin, Lipotes vexillifer , is a little higher, more than 20,000. In the common bottlenose dolphin, the number of optic fi bers is 150,000–180,000. Other odontocetes have an optic fi ber number similar to that in the bottlenose dolphin. In mysticetes, the number of optic fi bers is within a range of 250,000–420,000.

C. Features of the Retina in Pinnipeds In general, the retinal structure in pinnipeds is the same as in ter-

restrial mammals ( Fig. 4B ). All layers are present in the pinniped

Figure 4 Microphotographs of a transverse section of the retina of a bottlenose dolphin (A) and a Steller sea lion (B). RL, receptor layer; ONL, outer nuclear layer; OPL, outer plexiform layer; INL, inner nuclear layer; IPL, inner plexiform layer; GL, ganglion layer.

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retina, although there are a number of specifi c features, mainly of the outer nuclear, inner nuclear, and ganglion layers ( Jamieson and Fisher, 1972 ). The very thick outer nuclear layer is characteristic of many pinnipeds. The inner nuclear layer does not have clear mar-gins, in contrast to terrestrial mammals, where this layer is strictly ordered. There are large horizontal cells with very long processes within this layer. The giant horizontal cells are located irregularly among bipolar and amacrine cells, which are also distributed chaoti-cally. Bipolar cells are located mostly in the outer part of the inner nuclear layer while large amacrine cells are located close to the inner plexiform layer.

The ganglion layer in pinnipeds consists of a single row of gan-glion cells separated by wide intercellular distances. Ganglion cells have large pericaria, a large amount of Nissl substance in the cyto-plasm and long dendrits. Most of these cells are of intermediate size (10–30 μ m), although large cells (up to 50 μ m) are also encountered ( Fig. 5C,D ). These sizes are larger than in terrestrial mammals.

All pinnipeds have a predominately rod retina. The question of existence of cones has been a matter of discussion for a long time. However, light and electron microscopy have shown the presence of cones in the harbor seal and harp seal, although photoreceptors of this type are not numerous. Moreover, recently, immunochemical studies in a few pinniped species demonstrated that their retinae contained sparse populations of cones, consisting about 1–2% of photoreceptors ( Peichl et al. , 2001 ). However, these studies revealed only one opsin type in the cone receptors, the middle-to-long-wave sensitive L-opsin and did not revealed the short-wave sensitive S-opsin. This feature is common with cetaceans (in spite of the quite different phylogeny of cetaceans and pinnipeds) and distinguishes pinnipeds from major-ity of terrestrial mammals that have at least two spectrally sensitive cone types (middle- and short-wave sensitive) or three cone types in primates. The existence of some amount of cones corresponds to behavioral data showing a limited capability of color discrimination in pinnipeds (see Section I.B).

D. The Retina of Other Marine Mammals

1 . Sirenians The retina of the manatees also features the com-mon laminar organization. Receptors are presented mostly by rods; cones are less numerous. Among specifi c features, the large size of ganglion cells can be mentioned: up to 60 μ m, mostly 15–30 μ m, and not less than 10 μ m. Thus, the large size of ganglion cells seems to be a common feature of different groups of marine mammals.

2 . Sea Otters In the sea otter, the retina has many features simi-lar to those in terrestrial rather than in aquatic mammals. The major-ity of ganglion cells are not of large size: 7–30 μ m, mostly 11–15 μ m. They can be subdivided into three size groups: large, medium, and small. The retina of the sea otter contains a large number of small amacrine and neuroglial cells.

V. Retinal Topography and Visual Field Organization A . Cetaceans

Ganglion cells are distributed nonuniformly in the mammalian retina: ganglion cell density (number of cells per area unit) is high in some areas and much lower in the remainder of the retina. Regions of ganglion cell concentration (high density) provide the most detailed analysis of visual images. Characteristics of retinal topography in a variety of mammals are presented in a review by Hughes (1977) .

In terrestrial mammals, there are two main types of organization of a region with high cell density. In mammals with frontal vision, highest density is in the fovea or area centralis located in the center of the visual fi eld. This retinal area is little vascularized to avoid its shadowing by blood vessels. In mammals with laterally located eyes, the region of high cell density is shaped as a narrow horizontal strip, the visual streak. All terrestrial mammals studied until now have only one, if any, region of the highest ganglion cell density.

The cetacean retina does not have avascular areas that would indicate the presence of fovea or area centralis. Therefore, visual examinations of the eye fundus are not capable of revealing such regions. Data on topography of ganglion cell distribution in the ceta-cean retina were obtained using retinal whole mounts. Whole mounts are preparation of a total retina fl attened on a slide, ganglion layer upward, and stained appropriately. Retinal whole mounts allow to count ganglion cells systematically across all the retina surface, thus constructing a topographic map of ganglion cell distribution. Studies of retinal whole mounts have shown that different regions of the ceta-cean retina have a very different density of ganglion cells ( Fig. 6A,B ). Beginning from the pioneering studies of Dral (1977) , studies of cetacean retinal whole mounts were performed in a number of dol-phin species, particularly, the common dolphin, bottlenose dolphin, harbor porpoise, Dall’s porpoise, and Pacifi c white-sided dolphin (Lagenorhynchus obliquidens ) (see detail in Supin et al. , 2001 ).

The most characteristic feature of these species is that, unlike ter-restrial mammals, all of these marine dolphins do not have a single area of high ganglion cell density but two such areas. They are located near the horizontal diameter of the retina, one in the nasal and the other in the temporal sector ( Fig. 7A ). In the bottlenose dolphin, both these areas are located at a distance of 15–16 mm from the optic disk, which corresponds to 50–55° of the visual fi eld. Ganglion cell density in each of these areas reaches 700–800 cells/mm 2 , which cor-responds to 40–50 cells per squared degree of the visual fi eld (cells/deg2 ). The two high-density areas are connected by an elongated zone

Figure 5 Histograms showing size distributions of ganglion cells in the retina of cetaceans and pinnipeds. Abscissa axis, cell size; ordinate axis, number of cells of the present size. (A,B) Data from a common bottlenose dolphin; samples from areas of high (A) and low (B) cell densities. (C,D) The same for a north-ern fur seal.

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VFigure 7 Topographic distribution of ganglion cell density in the retina of some cetaceans: (A) the bottlenose dolphin, (B) the tucuxi dolphin, (C) the gray whale, (D) the Amazon river dolphin. Cell density is expressed as a number of cells per squared degree of the visual fi eld and is shown by various shadowing, according to the scales. Concentric circles show angular coordinates on a retinal hemisphere centered on the lens. D, V, N, T, dorsal, ventral, nasal, and temporal poles of the retina, respectively.

Figure 6 Microphotographs of the ganglion layer in retinal whole mounts. (A,B) A bottlenose dolphin, (A) an area of high cell density and (B) an area of low cell density. (C,D) A harp seal, (C) an area of high cell density and (D) an area of low cell density.

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of increased, although somewhat lower, cell density, which runs below the optic disk; this zone looks like a visual streak.

In other dolphin species, the retinal topography is basically simi-lar to that described earlier: there are two areas of high ganglion cell density. Even at low cell density in some cetaceans inhabiting turbid and low-transparent water (e.g., the tucuxi) the retinal topography looks the same ( Fig. 7B ). However, some quantitative differences do exist. In the bottlenose dolphin, the ganglion cell density is almost equal in the two areas, the nasal and the temporal areas, whereas in the harbor porpoise, the cell density in the temporal area (i.e., the region serving the frontal visual fi eld) is higher than in the nasal region: 28 and 20 cells/deg 2 , respectively.

The retinal topography of ganglion cells was studied in two mys-ticete species: the gray whale ( Eschrichtius robustus ) and common minke whale ( Balaenoptera acutorostrata ). Both of them also have ganglion cell distributions with two areas of high cell density, in the nasal and temporal sectors ( Fig. 7C ). Again, the cell density in the temporal area is higher than in the nasal one: 28 and 21 cells/deg 2 in the gray whale.

The signifi cance of the two areas of high ganglion cell density (i.e., of high retinal resolution) is probably associated with the cetacean’s capability of good vision both above and under water, in particular, with preventing the aerial myopia. Indeed, the high-resolution areas are located just opposite the two small pupil holes formed when the pupil is constricted in air (see Fig. 1A ). Because of the centrally sym-metric optics of the cetacean eye, light falls onto each of these areas through the opposite hole of the pupil. The areas of the cornea with minimal curvature are located across from these narrow pupil holes. Both the pinhole pupils and the low cornea curvature are devices

to prevent aerial myopia. Thus, images are projected onto the high-resolution areas of the retina with minimal distortions.

The two high-resolution retinal areas in cetaceans may be used differently for the underwater and aerial vision ( Supin et al. , 2001 ). When a dolphin looks at an underwater objects, it takes a position lateral to the object; i.e., the object is placed into the posterolateral part of the visual fi eld, which projects onto the nasal high-resolution area of the retina. On the contrary, when a dolphins looks at an object above water, it places the object into the ventronasal part of the visual fi eld, which projects onto the temporal high-resolution area of the retina ( Fig. 8 ). Of course, the temporal high-resolution area of the retina also participates in underwater vision. This area serves the frontal part of the visual fi eld, which is very important for forward-moving animals. The existence of two high-resolution areas of the retina can also compensate for limited head mobility in many cetaceans. At low head mobility, even at high mobility of the eyes, a single high-resolution area allows the animal to inspect only a limited part of the surrounding space, whereas two such areas can provide almost panoramic vision.

The retina of the Amazon river dolphin is a special case. The visual system of this species is adapted to inhabiting low-transparent turbid water where vision is possible only at short distances. Contrary to all other investigated cetaceans, the retina of the Amazon river dolphin has only one area of higher ganglion cell density. However, this single area is located not in the center or temporal sector, but in the lower part of the retina, i.e., in the region responsible for the upper part of the visual fi eld ( Fig. 7D ). In turbid low-transparent water, signifi cant illumination exists only near the water surface, i.e., in the upper part of the visual fi eld of a normally oriented animal. Just this part of the visual fi eld is served by the ventral part of the retina where the Amazon river dolphin has higher retinal resolution. The density of ganglion cells in this region reaches 500 cells/mm 2 ; with the small size of the eyeball, this corresponds to a cell density of about 2 cells/deg 2 .

B. Pinnipeds Few otariids has been subjects of study of the ganglion cell topog-

raphy in retinal whole mounts ( Supin et al. , 2001 ). All of them have a typical area centralis, well-defi ned area of high concentration of gan-glion cells ( Fig. 6C,D ). It is located at a distance of 35–40° from the visual fi eld center ( Fig. 9A ); taking into account the position of the eye in orbit, this place may be at the projection of the vertical merid-ian of the visual fi eld. Thus, the position of this area is similar to that in terrestrial carnivores. Cell density in this area reaches 1000 cells/mm2 , which corresponds to more than 160 cells/deg 2 .

Quite different is the retinal topography in the walrus. The area of increased ganglion cell density is not defi ned as clearly as in the northern fur seal. It looks like a horizontally extended oval, resem-bling the visual streak of terrestrial mammals ( Fig. 9B ). Within this streak, the highest cell density in its temporal part exceeds 1000 cells/mm2 ; because of the smaller size of the walrus eye, this cell density corresponds to only about 50 cells/deg 2 . No phocid seals have been studied successfully studied yet with respect of their reti-nal topography.

C. Other Marine Mammals 1. Sirenians Ganglion cell distribution in the manatee ret-

ina presents an example of low specialization. There is no sharply restricted spot of cell concentration. Ganglion cell distribution is not

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Figure 8 Characteristic positions of the dolphin body relative to visually inspected objects: (A) dorsal view (for both underwa-ter and aerial vision) and (B) lateral view (for aerial vision). 1, an above water object; 2, an underwater object. Arrows show directions of light rays from an object to the corresponding high-resolution area of the retina.

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uniform but varies smoothly across the retina: cell density is higher in a large center part of the retina (except in the nearest vicinity of the optic disk) and diminishes toward edges ( Fig. 9C ). The highest cell density is about 250–300 cells/mm 2 ; for a rather small manatee eye, this corresponds to 6–7 cells/deg 2 .

2. Sea otters In the sea otter retina ganglion cell topography ( Fig. 9D ) has a number of features similar to that of terrestrial mam-mals. The high-density area resembles naso-temporal streak. Within this streak, in its temporal part, there is a narrow and well-defi ned spot of the highest cells density which is similar to the area centralis in terrestrial mammals. The highest ganglion cell density in the sea otter exceeds 4000 cells/mm 2 ; in the rather small eye of the sea otter, this corresponds to 50–60 cells/deg 2 .

D. Estimations of Visual Acuity from Ganglion Cell Density

Visual acuity is determined by two factors: quality of the eye optics and the retinal resolution. In normal eyes, these two values are in agreement. Therefore, retinal resolution can be used as a fi rst-order estimate of the visual acuity. The retinal resolution depends on the density of ganglion cells (not of other retinal cells, e.g., photore-ceptors, as ganglion cells transmit visual information to the brain). Thus, data on ganglion cell topography can be used to estimate the visual acuity of investigated species. When it is possible to compare estimates of visual acuity obtained by behavioral (psychophysical) methods and those based on ganglion cell topography, these esti-mates are in good agreement.

Retinal resolution (hence, visual acuity) is defi ned as the mean angular distance between neighboring ganglion cells; i.e., as s � 1/�D , where s is the angular distance between cells and D is the cell density per square degree. The estimation of retinal resolution is dif-ferent in air and water: if the corneal surface is fl at, the retinal image of an object in water is 1.33 times larger than in air (because the ratio of refraction indices of water and air is 1.33). Therefore, retinal reso-lution in water is 1.33 times better than in air. If the retinal surface is a little convex, this factor is less than 1.33 but still more than 1.

Retinal resolution in the areas of the highest concentration of ganglion cells (i.e., visual acuity in the best-vision areas of the visual fi eld) was estimated in a number of marine mammal species ( Table 1 ). In many cetaceans (except for river dolphins) it varies from 8 to 12 arcmin in water, correspondingly from 11 to 15 arc-min in air. For the bottlenose dolphin, the estimation of visual acu-ity obtained from the retinal topography almost coincides with that obtained in behavioral experiments. In general, the visual acuity of cetaceans is within a range of visual acuities of many terrestrial mammals, except the foveal vision of primates, where the visual acu-ity is around 1 arcmin. The Amazon river dolphin has much worse visual acuity: 40–50 arcmin in water; however, this value is adequate for vision in turbid water where objects are visible at best at a few tens of centimeters.

Among pinnipeds, rather acute vision is characteristic for the northern fur seal: better than 5 arcmin in water and better than 7 arcmin in air. This is close to estimates obtained in behavioral experiments in a number of both otariids and phocids: 5–8 arcmin ( Schusterman, 1972 ). In the walrus, the visual acuity is worse than in seals: around 8 arcmin in water and 10 arcmin in air ( Table 1 ).

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TABLE I Visual Acuity of Some Aquatic Mammals

Species Water Air Mode of measurement

Odontoceti Bottlenose dolphin ( Tursiops truncatus ) 8–9 11–12 BR Short-beaked common dolphin ( Delphinus delphis ) 8 R Harbor porpoise ( Phocoena phocoena ) 11 15 R Tucuxi dolphin ( Sotalia fl uviatilis ) 25 33 R Amazon river dolphin ( Inia geoffrensis ) 40 53 R Dall’s porpoise ( Phocoenoides dalli ) 11 R False killer whale ( Pseudorca crassidens ) 9 R Pacifi c white-sided dolphin ( Lagenorhynchus obliquidens ) 11 R Beluga whale ( Delphinapterus leucas ) 12 R

Mysticetes

Common minke whale ( Balaenoptera acutorostrata ) 7 R

Gray whale ( Eschrichtius robustus ) 11 R

Phocid and Odobenids

Harbor seal ( Phoca vitulina ) 8 B Harp seal ( Pagophilus groenlandicus ) 4 3 R

Otariids

Northern fur seal ( Callorhinus ursinus ) 4–5 5–7 R Steller sea lion ( Eumetopias jubatus ) 6–7 B California sea lion ( Zalophus californianus ) 5–6 5–7 B Cape fur seal ( Arctocephalus pusillus ) 6–7 B Southern fur seal ( A. australis ) 7 B Walrus ( Odobenus rosmarus ) 8 10 R

Sirenia

Caribbean manatee ( Trichechus manatus ) 20–24 BR

Lutrinae

Sea otter ( Enhydra lutris ) 7 R

Visual acuity is presented as minimal resolvable distance in minutes of arc, rounded to a whole number of minutes. In some cases, a range of variation is indicated (e.g., 11-12 arc min). Estimates of visual acuity are given for underwater ( Water ) and aerial ( air) vision. In the column air, data are not presented when none of the authors attempted to interpret their results in terms of aerial visual acuity. When several estimates of visual acuity in different conditions are available (e.g., in the nasal and temporal best-vision areas in cetaceans, at various illumination conditions, etc.), the best estimate (i.e., the minimal resolvable distance) is selected. Mode of measurement: B, behavioral data; R, data on retinal resolution.

In the manatee, underwater visual acuity is around 20 arcmin (it remains unknown whether the manatee has good aerial vision). In the sea otter, the visual acuity is around 7 arcmin in water.

VI. Cerebral Visual Centers In dolphins, the visual system is well represented in the midbrain

(the superior colliculus), thalamus (the lateral geniculate body), and in the cerebral cortex. However, the visual centers (both the superior colliculus and the lateral geniculate body) are several times less in

volume than corresponding parts of the auditory system (the inferior colliculus and the medial geniculate body).

In the cerebral cortex of dolphins, visual representation was found by the evoked potential method. This area occupies a part of the cortex named the lateral gyrus ( Fig. 10A ). The cortical representation of the visual system in dolphins also is not as large as that of the audi-tory system; nevertheless, it occupies a signifi cant cortical area. There is a differentiation within this area: it contains a zone generating short latency evoked potentials (i.e., the primary projection zone) and another zone generating evoked potentials of longer latency (a nonprimary

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zone). The fi rst of them is located in the depth of the entolateral sulcus (a second-order sulcus within the lateral gyrus); the latter occupies the remainder of the lateral gyrus. These two zones differ in cytoarchitec-tonic features: the primary projection zone contains an incipient layer IV (the layer where visual thalamocortical afferent fi bers end), whereas this layer is absent in the nonprimary zone.

In mysticetes, which do not have echolocation, the sizes of visual and auditory structures in the midbrain and thalamus are compara-ble. Their cortical sensory areas were not investigated.

Among pinnipeds, the visual representation in the cerebral cortex was found by evoked potential method in one otariid species—the northern fur seal ( Fig. 10B ), and one phocid species—the Caspian seal, Pusa caspica . The location of this area is very similar to that in carnivores: the projection occupies the caudal part of the lateral gyrus.

VII. Conclusions In general, the visual system of marine mammals demonstrates a

rather high degree of development and performance, in particular, good visual acuity, capabilities to precisely aim visually driven behav-ior and intermodal transfer, and well-developed visual brain centers. This system also exhibits a number of specifi c features associated with adaptation to both aquatic and aerial environment, in particular, spe-cifi c retinal topography (positions of best-vision areas) along with pupil and cornea structure which provide emmetropia in both air and water.

See Also the Following Article Brain

References Dawson , W. ( 1980 ). The cetacean eye . In “ Cetacean Behavior:

Mechanisms and Functions ” ( L. Herman , ed. ) , pp. 53 – 100 . Wiley Interscience , New York .

Dral , A. ( 1977 ). On the retinal anatomy of cetacea (mainly Tursiops trun-catus ) . In “ Functional Anatomy of Marine Mammals ” ( R. Harrison , ed. ) , pp. 81 – 134 . Academic Press , London .

Fobes , J. , and Smock , C. ( 1981 ). Sensory capacities of marine mammals .Psychol. Bull. 89 , 288 – 307 .

Hughes , A. ( 1977 ). The topography of vision in mammals of con-trasting life style: Comparative optics and retinal organization . In “ Handbook of Sensory Physiology: The Visual System in Vertebrates ” ( F. Crescitelli , ed. ) , Vol. VII/5 , pp. 613 – 756 . Springer , Berlin .

Jacobs , G. H. ( 1993 ). The distribution and nature of colour vision among the mammals . Biol. Rev. 68 , 413 – 471 .

Jamieson , G. S. , and Fisher , H. D. ( 1972 ). The pinniped eye: A review . In “ Functional anatomy of Marine Mammals ” ( R. J. Harrison , ed. ) , Vol. 1 , pp. 245 – 261 . Academic Press , New York .

Madsen , C. , and Herman , L. ( 1980 ). Social and ecological correlates of cetacean vision and visual appearance . In “ Cetacean Behavior: Mechanisms and Functions ” ( L. Herman , ed. ) , pp. 101 – 147 . Wiley Interscience , New York .

Mobley , J. , and Helweg , D. ( 1990 ). Visual ecology and cognition in cetaceans . In “ Sensory abilities of cetaceans ” ( J. Thomas , and R. Kastelein , eds ) , pp. 519 – 536 . Plenum Press , New York .

Peichl , L. , Berhmann , G. , and Kröger , R. H. H. ( 2001 ). For whales and seals the ocean is not blue: A visual pigment loss in marine mammals . Eur. J. Neurosci. 13 , 1520 – 1528 .

Piggins , D. , Muntz , R. , and Best , R. ( 1983 ). Physical and morphological aspects of the eye of the manatee Trichechus inunguis Natterer 1883 (Sirenia: Mammalia) . Mar. Behav. Physiol. 9 , 111 – 130 .

Schusterman , R. J. ( 1972 ). Visual acuity in pinnipeds . In “ Behavior of Marine Animals ” ( H. E. Winn , and B. L. Olla , eds ) , Vol. 2 , pp. 469 – 492 . Plenum Press , New York .

Supin , A. Ya. , Popov , V. V. , and Mass , A. M. ( 2001 ). “ The Sensory Physiology of Aquatic Mammals . ” Kluwer Akademic Publishers , Boston /Dordrecht/London .

Figure 10 Position of projection sensory areas (visual, auditory, and somatosensory) in the cerebral cortex of cetaceans and pinnipeds: (A) the bottlenose dolphin and (B) the northern fur seal. Dorsal view of the cerebral cortex. On the right hemisphere, the pat-tern of cortical sulci and gyri is shown in more detail. On the left hemisphere, only main cortical sulci are shown and the positions of the visual, auditory, and somatosensory areas are indicated. The main sulci (labeled by arrows at their ends): SE , sulcus ectosylvius ; SS, sulcus suprasylvius ; SL, sulcus lateralis ; SEL, sulcus endolateralis ; SSa, sulcus suprasyl-vius anterior ; SSp, sulcus suprasylvius posterior ; SPCr , sulcus postcruciatus . The main gyri (labeled on their surface): GES, gyrus ectosylvius ; GSS, gyrus suprasylvius ; GL, gyrus lat-eralis ; V, visual area (V1, primary projection zone; V2, nonprimary zone); A, auditory area (only a part of this area is visible in B); S, somatosensory area.

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