Butterfly Found To Have Fifteen Different Types Of Photoreceptors

Plants and Animals





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The common bluebottle is a species native to Australasia. Kazuo Unno

The human eye has three different types of cone cells, known as photoreceptors, that allow us to see millions of different colors. Animals have varying numbers of these receptors, which allows some species, such as insects, to see wavelengths of light invisible to us. To date, the largest number of different photoreceptors ever found in an insect’s eye was nine, which is impressive enough.