Twilight Zone Fish Unveils Hybrid Photoreceptor, Redefining Vision
Researchers studying deep-sea fish larvae in the mesopelagic 'twilight zone' have found a third photoreceptor that blends cone-like molecular machinery with rod-like shape, a hybrid eye that can detect faint light and bioluminescent signals, challenging 150 years of vision theory that sight relies only on rods and cones. The study, led by Dr. Fabio Cortesi and published in Science Advances, suggests vertebrate vision may involve more than the classic two photoreceptor types.