Compound eyes and ocular pigments of crustacean larvae (Stomatopoda and decapoda, brachyura)

Larvae of decapod and stomatopod crustaceans possess paired compound eyes not unlike those of adult crustaceans. However, the visual demands of larval and adult life differ considerably. Furthermore, the eyes of adult stomatopods appear to be far more specialized than those of the larvae. We examined eyes of several stomatopod species just before and after larval metamorphosis. At this time, the entire larval retina is joined by a new, adult‐type retinal array which gradually replaces the remnants of the larval retina. The new retina of the postlarva is anatomically similar to that of the full‐grown adult, and has virtually identical assemblages of intrarhabdomal filters. We determined the photopigments of Gonodactylus aloha, the only species for which we were able to obtain both larval and adult specimens, using microspectrophotometry. The single middle‐wavelength larval rhodopsin (λ_max= 499 nm) disappears at metamorphosis; none of the 10 classes of adult rhodopsins has λ_max between 473 and 510 nm. This metamorphic change of visual pigment does not occur in a comparison species of decapod crustacean, the blue crab Callinectes sapidus. Here, rhodopsins both of the megalops larva and the adult had λ_max at 503–504 nm. The difference between these two species can be explained by the varying ecological requirements of their larvae and adults, and more study of visual pigments in retinas of larval and adult crustaceans is warranted.