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Fruit fly compound eye (Drosophila melanogaster). The compound eye of the fruit fly contains 800 ommatidia or individual units. Each ommatidium contains 8 photoreceptor cells, support cells, pigment cells, and a cornea. Some fruit flies (wild-type) have reddish pigment cells, which absorb excess blue light so the fly isn't blinded by ambient light. Drosophila melanogaster is used in genetics research and is a common model organism in developmental biology.
Image and text copyright © Dennis Kunkel. All rights reserved. |
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