simple eye

An eye with one concave chamber. Note that 'simple' does not imply a reduced level of complexity or acuity.

Type Organ
Structure parente eye

Sous-structures

spherical lensed eye Organ simple eye with multiple lenses Organ camera-type eye Organ stemma Organ pinhole eye Organ

Questions fréquentes

What defines a simple eye and which animals have them?
A simple eye is defined by having a single concave optical chamber — as opposed to compound eyes, which consist of many independent lens-detector units. Simple eyes are found across a wide range of invertebrates and vertebrates: vertebrate camera eyes (including the human eye), cephalopod eyes, and various forms found in spiders, scorpions, and many invertebrate larvae.
Why is 'simple eye' not synonymous with low acuity?
The term 'simple' refers to the single-chamber architecture, not visual capability. Some simple eyes achieve extraordinary acuity — cephalopod (octopus and squid) camera eyes, for example, rival vertebrate eyes in optical quality. Even among invertebrate simple eyes, jumping spiders have remarkably acute simple eyes for detecting prey movement. Conversely, some compound eyes have relatively poor resolution compared to high-performing simple eyes.
What are the main subtypes of simple eyes?
Simple eyes can be classified by their optical mechanism: pit eyes (the most primitive, lacking a lens), pinhole eyes (small aperture acts as a pinhole camera), simple lensed eyes (a single refractive lens focuses light), multiple-lens eyes (two or more lenses), and mirror eyes (use reflective surfaces rather than lenses). Each type represents a different evolutionary solution to achieving focused vision.

Structures associées

mucus body coating mucous body coating mucus cocoon mucous cocoon Mullerian duct ductus paramesonephricus multi cell part structure cell part cluster multicellular anatomical structure multicellular structure multilaminar epithelium laminated epithelium multi-tissue structure multi-tissue structures multi-unit eye

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Data sources: Terminologia Anatomica, Foundational Model of Anatomy, Wikidata.