Approximate λmax of visual pigments, where known, in different butterfly species

Range Table - link nm
Organism Butterfly Lepidoptera spp.
Reference Frentiu FD, Briscoe AD. A butterfly eye's view of birds. Bioessays. 2008 Nov30(11-12):1151-62. doi: 10.1002/bies.20828 p.1154 table 1PubMed ID18937365
Primary Source See pointers to refs at right of table
Comments P.1153 right column 3rd paragraph: "The number of visual pigments (P) in the eyes of butterflies, however, varies from three to five among the five major butterfly families (Table 1). This variation in pigment number is due to lineage-specific gene duplications evident when mapped onto a butterfly family phylogeny (ref 27) (Fig. 3). Duplications of the B opsin gene have occurred independently in two of the five butterfly families (Pieridae and Lycaenidae)(refs 28, 29) and duplications of the LW opsin gene have occurred independently in three of the families (Papilionidae, Nymphalidae and Riodinidae)(refs 30–32), leading to a diversity of photoreceptor λmax values in the middle—(425–500 nm) and long-wavelength ranges (505–600 nm: Table 1). For example, in the pierids, duplicate blue opsins have diversified into violet (P425) and blue (P453) absorbing visual pigments (ref 28). In lycaenids, independently duplicated blue opsins have diversified into blue (P437) and blue-green (P500) visual pigments (ref 29)." See notes beneath table
Entered by Uri M
ID 117174