Scallops’ eyes use millions of tiny square crystals to see

[rjlittlefield]

So, here's a new type of eye for you: two retinas, front-ended by a focusing element that consists of an array of mirrors!

https://www.sciencenews.org/article/sca ... ystals-see

Magazine issue: Vol. 193, No. 1, January 20, 2018, p. 8

There’s stiff competition for the most elaborate eyeballs in the animal kingdom, but a mollusk that turns up on dinner plates might be a finalist.

Each of a scallop’s eyes — it has up to 200 of them, each about a millimeter in diameter — contains millions of perfectly square, flat crystals that build up into a mirrored mosaic, new research shows. And that shiny surface is curved in a way that lets a scallop focus light onto two different retinas.

The article continues with other fascinating details about the mirrors.

It's a short article, well worth the read.

--Rik