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Humans have colour vision - we have rods (which are quite sensitive to light) and cones (which come in three types, and whose different responses to light of different wavelengths our brains interpret as 'blue', 'green', and 'red').
Do any other mammals have colour vision? If there are any, do they use the same mechanism (cones)?
Do any other animals have colour vision? If so, what mechanisms do they use?
Human eyes (and brains) can 'see' light with wavelengths from ~395 nm to ~700 nm. IIRC, some animals can 'see' UV (shorter than 395 nm) and some others IR (longer than 700 nm). What are the extremes? How do the receptors differ from our rods and cones?
Humans also have a sense of touch, smell, taste, and hearing. IIRC, some snakes have a sense of 'heat' - it's not 'sight' because there's no imaging done with the IR their pits detect. Other animals - the platypus, some eels? - have a sense of 'electrical field strength' in water. A magnetic field direction has also been reported (IIRC) in some birds (and bacteria?).
The senses of smell and taste are 'just' presence/absence (and strength) of certain chemicals, and this is common in living things.
Do any other mammals have colour vision? If there are any, do they use the same mechanism (cones)?
Do any other animals have colour vision? If so, what mechanisms do they use?
Human eyes (and brains) can 'see' light with wavelengths from ~395 nm to ~700 nm. IIRC, some animals can 'see' UV (shorter than 395 nm) and some others IR (longer than 700 nm). What are the extremes? How do the receptors differ from our rods and cones?
Humans also have a sense of touch, smell, taste, and hearing. IIRC, some snakes have a sense of 'heat' - it's not 'sight' because there's no imaging done with the IR their pits detect. Other animals - the platypus, some eels? - have a sense of 'electrical field strength' in water. A magnetic field direction has also been reported (IIRC) in some birds (and bacteria?).
The senses of smell and taste are 'just' presence/absence (and strength) of certain chemicals, and this is common in living things.