Why Our Pupils Are Round, Cat's Are Slit And Herbivores' Are Rectangular?

[Judi Lynn]

Why Our Pupils Are Round, Cat’s Are Slit And Herbivores’ Are Rectangular?
May 20, 2018 by J. Pascual

The iris, the membrane that gives color to our eyes dilates or contracts depending on the luminosity of the environment. The space through which light penetrates, the window the iris leaves, is called the pupil.

The pupil presents different shapes depending on their eating habits of different animals. We can say that herbivores, generally those with daily habits and in the lower part of the food chain have horizontally elongated or rectangular pupils. Dogs, humans and the great felines have round pupils, while cats, foxes -and some reptiles- have vertical pupils.

But, how do we explain these differences? Why do they happen? What advantages do they have? Let’s look at this with some more detail:

Herbivores’ rectangular pupil:

Herbivores have a very extensive visual field since their eyes are placed to the sides of their head. They can, therefore, see both towards the front and the back. On the other hand, they always have to be alert, always paying attention to detect any suspicious movements that could mean a predator is nearby. They must have good frontal vision to escape and avoid obstacles quickly if needed.

More:
https://jpascual.scienceblog.com/141/why-our-pupils-are-round-cats-are-slit-and-herbivores-are-rectangular/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+scienceblogrssfeed+%28ScienceBlog.com%29

[JoeOtterbein]

1. Cool read!

Thanks Judi !!!!

[Sophia4]

2. Very interesting. Thanks.