Long-wave sensitivity in the masked greenling (Hexagrammos octogrammus), a shallow-water marine fish

Microspectrophotometry (MSP) revealed that surprisingly for a “fully marine” species, in summer, photoreceptors of the nearshore scorpaeniform fish known as the masked greenling, Hexagrammos octogrammus, contained exclusively, or presumably, porphyropsin with a small admixture of rhodopsin. As a result of this, the λmax of the spectral sensitivity of the photoreceptors were significantly shifted to longer wavelengths as compared to the λmax typical of marine shallow-water fishes, showing about 530 nm for rods and single cones, and 570/625 nm for double-cone members. These unique spectral shifts would permit a cone-driven wavelength discrimination in spite of high-density orange corneal filters which block light at lower wavelengths.