Chameleon Oculi

AAAS: “The twisted secret behind a chameleon’s oddball eyes.” No, this is not the skull of a rabbit, but rather a chameleon. Recall that rabbits have cartilage in their ears, not bones. But chameleons have pretty unique eyes. “The reptiles can cast their peepers in two different directions at once, a rare trait in the animal kingdom that gives them a nearly 360° field of vision — and a freaky visage.”

The advantage may be that they can otherwise remain motionless when in view of either predator or prey. “CT scans published today in Scientific Reports reveal the long nerves (purple) that link a chameleon’s bulging eyes to its brain are coiled like a telephone cord.” [Back when telephones had cords]. The extra slack allow lizards to store longer optical nerves than any other reptile, plus rotate their eyes in virtually any direction.

“The team observed the looped nerves in “veiled chameleons” (Chamaeleo calyptratus), a species native to the Arabian Peninsula, and two distantly related chameleons.” Suggests it’s likely the trait is shared + genetically preserved across the entire oddball reptilian family. And not just the crazy aunt in the basement.