Abstract
DURING the course of underwater studies of fishes in the English Channel, Mediterranean and Indian Ocean, it was noticed that a coloured iridescent layer was often present on the inner surface of the cornea extending over the pupillary area (Fig. 1). Iridescence has been observed in a variety of animal tissues1,2 and is caused by regular multilayer structures stacked in a medium of different refractive index. Iridescent tissues already known in fish include the tapetum in which the principal material may be guanine1 or collagen3 and the silvery iris and scales of teleost fish where the principal material is guanine4.
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References
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LYTHGOE, J. Iridescent Corneas in Fishes. Nature 233, 205–207 (1971). https://doi.org/10.1038/233205a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/233205a0
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