News Animals

Built for Blurs: Jellyfish have great eyes that can’t focus

By Susan Milius

- More than 2 years ago

Eight of the eyes on a box jellyfish have surprisingly good lenses, yet the structure of the eyes keeps them from focusing sharply, according to a new optics study.

MANY EYES. This Carybdea sivickisi (top) shows the boxy shape typical of this group of jellyfish. In a closely related species, researchers analyzed the animal’s cameralike eyes (arrows) on a sensory stalk (bottom left).