How do the ommatidia of the compound eyes of arthropods differ from the image-forming eyes of vertebrates?
A) They lack rhodopsin.
B) They see light but do not form images.
C) They lack cells that form action potentials.
D) Each has its own lens and forms its own image.
E) It takes only a few ommatidia to form a high-resolution image.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The ommatidia in the compound eyes of arthropods each have their own lens and photoreceptor cells, but they do not individually form complete images. Instead, the brain processes the input from many ommatidia to form a mosaic-like image. In contrast, the eyes of vertebrates have a single lens that focuses incoming light onto a specialized layer of cells called the retina, which forms a complete image that is sent to the brain.

How Do the Ommatidia of the Compound Eyes of Arthropods