Top 10 Blind Animals That Go Without Vision
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For a person to be left without sight is a tragedy. But there are living beings that have never had organs of vision, or have ceased to rely on them in the process of evolution. We present to you top 10 blind animalswho go without sight.
10. Blind Dalai Mountain Lizard (Dibamus Dalaiensis)
• In 2011, a new species of legless worm-like lizard was discovered in Cambodia and, as the name suggests, it is completely blind.
• These interesting animals have external ears and, depending on the sex, they may have small protrusions where the legs would normally be.
• The blind, legless lizard from Cambodia has evolved to have no need for eyes, as it spends most of its life digging in the ground. In the words of one researcher, when it comes to the eyes, "these adaptations are just a waste of energy when you're making your way through underground tunnels."
9. Brazilian blind characid (Stygichthys Typhlops)
• The caves in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais are inhabited by fish that don't need eyes or pigmentation. These small creatures, up to 4,6 cm in size, live relatively secluded in their cave ponds. They have no reaction to light, and visible organs of vision.
• The Brazilian blind charicid is restricted to a 25 km long aquifer and is under threat of habitat loss due to lower local water tables.
8. Eiselt's worm (Atretochoana eiselti)
• Although this eyeless creature looks like a snake (and there are more indecent names on the Web, such as "conda cock"), it is actually a closer relative of the aquatic lungless salamander.
• A legless amphibian living in the Amazon basin has shocked most scientists because it is able to live without eyes and lungs. And in his skull there are muscles that are not characteristic of any living organism.
• Researchers are now working to learn more about this rare find, as Iselt's caecilians have been largely unexplored.
7. Texas Blind Salamander (Eurycea rathbuni)
• After many years of living in underground waters, the Texas blind salamander decided that eyes were an unnecessary luxury, and evolved to such an extent that they no longer needed them, hiding them under thin and colorless skin.
• This animal catches its prey (snails, crabs and other invertebrates) by touch, and finds partners for breeding by smell.
6 Kauai Cave Wolf Spider (Adelocosa Anops)
• Another eyeless animal is the blind wolf spider, found only in a few caves on the Hawaiian island of Kauai. It is relatively small for wolf spiders and reaches a length of only 20 mm.
• Despite the intimidating name, cave wolf spiders are completely harmless to humans and prey almost exclusively on small amphipods found in their habitat.
5. Wide-mouthed Satan (Satan eurystomus)
• This is a rare freshwater catfish native to Texas and the only member of the genus Satan. Currently, it has only been found in five artesian wells in and around San Antonio.
• Satanic fish lack pigmentation and have no visible eyes on the outside. However, they once had organs of vision, but probably disappeared as a result of evolution. The remnants of the eyes are incredibly reduced in size and have virtually no trace of the retina or lens, and the optic tract, although present, does not reach the brain.
4. European Proteus (Proteus Anguinus)
• Pale pink, tailed, easily enduring 10-degree water temperature – this is how the European Proteus appears before us, he is also a “human fish” – because of the similarity of color with the color of the human body.
• Unlike some of the other species on this list, proteas have eyes, but they are completely hidden under the skin and unable to see any light. These animals use their senses of smell and hearing to navigate in the dark.
• European proteas always live in water, which is unusual for amphibians, and they can only be found in cold underground lakes and streams in the western Balkan Peninsula, where they spend their very long life (from 69 to 100 years), feeding, resting and breeding. under the water.
3. Star-nosed or star-nosed (Condylura cristata)
The starship is one of the most unusual animals on the planet. This member of the mole family does not allow blindness to interfere with his healthy diet. The animal uses the fleshy growths on its snout to explore its surroundings and navigate in the dark. In the structure of this organ, which gives the star-carrier an alien look, there are over 100 nerve endings.
• These growths can target 13 different objects per second, allowing the Starship to quickly pick up any snack it encounters.
• By the way, the starfish has eyes, and they are not even hidden under the skin. Just very small.
2. Hydra
• The miniature relatives of jellyfish, known as hydras, don't need eyes to live and even theoretically be considered immortal due to their amazing ability to regenerate.
• Initially, scientists were puzzled how this species was able to find its way to light without sight, but it was later discovered that hydras have a light-sensitive protein at the tips of their tentacles.
1. Eyeless, troglobite shrimp (Palaemonias ganteri)
• The list of animals that do not need sight is headed by the shrimp, which has chosen the caves of Kentucky to live. Since there is not enough light in such "apartments", the Palaemonias ganteri species evolved without eyes and with a shell devoid of pigment, which makes these creatures almost completely transparent.
• Eyeless shrimp survive in a very unfriendly environment due to sediment that enters the cave due to the movement of groundwater. In these deposits they find their lunch – protozoa, fungi, algae and other organic materials.
