Limnichthys fasciatus, the barred sand burrower, is a species of sandburrower. It is noted for its highly developed eyes, with a structure similar to the eyes of a chameleon, which has led it to be described as marine chameleon.Pettigrew, J. D., and S. P. Collin. "Terrestrial optics in an aquatic eye: The sandlance, Limnichthytes fasciatus (Creediidae, Teleostei)." Journal of Comparative Physiology A 177.4 (1995): 397–408. Its fully grown length measures between and . The species is native to reefs in the Indo-Pacific. The fish preys on plankton prey by surprise attacking it from a hiding in loose sand,Schwab, I. R., S. P. Collin, and J. D. Pettigrew. "Chameleon of the sea." British Journal of Ophthalmology 89.1 (2005): 4–4. with only the eyes protruding from the sand.Fritsches, Kerstin A., and Justin Marshall. "A new category of eye movements in a small fish." Current Biology 9.8 (1999): R272–R273.
Vision
A unique property of this species is its vision. The cornea is 1/7th of the thickness of the entire eye, and has a convex shape due to a lens embedded in the cornea. The cornea can focus, which allows the fish to have depth perception without moving its head. The lens itself is flattened. Its eye is also notable for its high density of retinal ganglion cells compared to other species of fish. Because of the rapid and accurate attack on prey, it is assumed the fish has good eyesight.
References
External links Limnichthys fasciatus @ fishesofaustralia.net.au