A relative of starfish does not have eyes, but can still see. That information comes from scientists who studied sea creatures in the coral reefs of the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico.
海星的亲戚没有眼睛，但仍然能看见。这些信息来自于加勒比海和墨西哥湾珊瑚礁中研究海洋生物的科学家。
The researchers reported this month that the starfish relative -- called the red brittle star -- is only the second creature known to be able to see without having eyes. This ability is called extraocular vision.
研究人员本月报告说，这种被称为红脆星的海星亲戚是已知第二种不用眼睛就能看到的生物。这种能力叫做眼外视力。
The other creature said to have extraocular vision is a kind of sea urchin.
另一种据说有眼外视力的生物是海胆。
Brittle stars, with five arms extending from a central disk, are part of a group of marine life called echinoderms. They have a nervous system but no brain.
易碎的恒星，有五条手臂从中心盘伸出，是一组被称为棘皮动物的海洋生物的一部分。他们有神经系统但没有大脑。
The red brittle star measures up to about 35 centimeters wide, from the end of one arm to the other. It lives in bright and complex environments. Because of the possibility of being eaten by fish, the creature hides during daylight hours.
这颗红而脆的恒星从一只手臂的末端到另一只手臂，宽约35厘米。它生活在明亮复杂的环境中。由于有可能被鱼吃掉，这种生物在白天会躲起来。
The red brittle star possesses extraocular vision as a result of light-sensing cells, called photoreceptors. These photoreceptors cover its body and chromatophores, the cells responsible for pigment or coloring.
红脆星由于被称为光感受器的感光细胞而具有眼外视觉。这些光感受器覆盖它的身体和色素细胞，这些细胞负责色素或着色。
During daytime, the chromatophores narrow the field of light being detected, making each photoreceptor like the pixel of a computer image. When combined with other pixels, the image becomes complete.
在白天，色素体缩小了被检测到的光场，使每个感光体都像计算机图像的像素。当与其他像素组合时，图像将变得完整。
The visual system does not work at night, when the chromatophores contract in size.
当染色质体积缩小时，视觉系统在夜间不工作。
Laboratory experiments suggested that the brittle stars have very simple vision. Placed in a circular environment, for example, they moved toward walls that were white with a black bar, suggestive of a daytime hiding place.
实验室实验表明，这些易碎恒星的视力非常简单。例如，他们被安置在一个圆形的环境中，朝着墙壁移动，墙壁是白色的，有一个黑色的条子，暗示着白天的藏身之处。
Lauren Sumner-Rooney is a research fellow at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History. She led the study, which appeared in the publication Current Biology.
劳伦·萨姆纳·鲁尼是牛津大学自然历史博物馆的研究员。她领导了这项研究，发表在《当代生物学》杂志上。
"If our conclusions about the chromatophores are correct, this is a beautiful example of innovation in evolution," she said.
她说：“如果我们关于染色质体的结论是正确的，这是进化创新的一个很好的例子。”
Sumner-Rooney added, "It's such an alien concept for us, as very visually driven animals, to conceive of how an animal might see its habitat without eyes, but now we know of two examples."
苏姆纳·鲁尼补充道：“对于我们这些视觉驱动力很强的动物来说，想象一只动物如何在没有眼睛的情况下看到自己的栖息地，这是一个非常陌生的概念，但现在我们知道了两个例子。
用户评论