How can the Loch Ness creature see in the black inky depths
of Loch Ness? It may, like some fish, use other senses it possesses and may
even be blind. If eyes are not useable then evolution tends to remove them such
as in some Blind Cavefish . Even so called ‘Blind Cavefish’ may not be
completely blind as they have a light sensitive organ in their brains .(http://www.livescience.com/15923-blind-cave-fish-circadian-rhythms.html)
Interesting that these types of blind fish in different parts
of the world tend to develop the same coping mechanisms to cope in their environment
whether in caves or murky pools. This is called convergent evolution, where different creatures
dealing with the same or similar ecological problems end up with similar
evolutionary solutions. Could this apply to Lake Creatures I wonder as many seem
to be reported in similar types of lakes formed doing the ice age with similar characteristics
. Could they have developed along similar lines to cope with the changes over
the years?
Fish can see in low-light conditions in murky water, tuna for example have very good vision. Fish
are normally nearsighted ,however it is believed that sharks are farsighted. A
recent study has shown that deep sea crabs that live 1000 metres down still
have a type of colour vision. http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/19488659).
The elephantnose fish, whose retinal
arrangement of rods and cones seems to doom them to poor vision is in fact not
as poor sighted as one might suppose. Now Andreas Reichenbach of the University
of Leipzig and his colleagues have figured out how the fish (Gnathonemus
petersii) can see in murky African waters. http://arstechnica.com/science/2012/06/elephantnose-fish-evolved-complex-eyes-to-see-in-muddy-water/
.As the Loch Ness creature is aquatic then some of this may apply to its evolution and how it has become the creature reportedly seen in recent years. In
the black depths of Loch Ness though it may be more like a cavefish than a tuna.
Sound travels almost five times faster in water than in air.
Fish tend to rely on this and have an excellent sense of hearing. They can feel
vibrations in the water along sensors on the side of their bodies. Some have a
great sense of smell. It has been documented in some reports that the Loch Ness
creature can be startled by noise and will submerge at the sound of a car door
slamming. It may be the creature relies more on hearing than sight from living
in the murky peat filled waters.
There are those who think Nessie may be a Giant salamander.
This creature also has very poor eyesight. It has sensory cells covering its skin it uses to
make up for this. A survivor from the Jurassic period, some 140 million years ago
it seems to being restricted to streams
with clear water in Japan so may not have adapted to Loch Ness’s peaty waters.
Some have reported seeing eyes or slits on the Loch Ness creature
but this does not mean the eyes will be functional. More sightings are reported
on still hot sunny days so it may have an organ in it’s brain like the cavefish
that leads it towards the sunlight. There are so many unanswered questions that
will be only be answered if a creature is caught either on camera very clearly,
as opposed to the blurry stuff normally shown ,or is captured. In the meantime all
we can do is hazard guesses at how or what the creature has evolved into, if of
course it is not a trick of the light or a standing wave. I feel there are too
many sightings to say that it is all mistaken identity.
1 comment:
I would tend to think its eyes are small, it really depends how long it took to adapt to the dark conditions having been in the open sea 10,000 years before.
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