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Yellowfin tuna vision: the science and the numbers

Thunnus albacares · order Perciformes · Fish: all the numbers

The yellowfin tuna has 2 colour receptor classes (426 and 485 nm): mainly blues and yellows; reds and greens look alike.[1][2] Its sharpest vision resolves 16.4 cycles per degree, against 63.75 for people in this dataset.[7] The yellowfin tuna stops seeing flicker at 80 Hz, against 60 Hz for people.[27]

See it on your photoBack to How does the yellowfin tuna see?
  • 2colour receptor classesMeasured
  • 16.4cycles per degree (sharpness)Measured
  • 80hertz flicker fusion (motion)Measured

The yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares) is a fish in the order Perciformes. Its eyes belong to the vision type Shallow-water fish tetrachromat: four cone types including ultraviolet and far red. Measured in this species: colour, sharpness and motion (flicker fusion). Measured core: measured values on at least 3 of the 6 dials.

This is a simulation built from published eye measurements, not what the animal experiences.

Method: How we know what animals see (the See Like Animals vision engine) · Sources · Last updated . Every value below carries its evidence level and sources; nothing is typed by hand.

What the yellowfin tuna sees: colour receptors

Yellowfin tuna colour receptor peaks, 300 to 700 nmYellowfin tuna: 2 receptor peaks at 426, 485 nm; you: 3 at 421.5, 532, 558.4 nm. ultraviolet300400500600700
Yellowfin tuna: 426, 485 nmPeople: 421.5, 532, 558.4 nmWavelength in nanometres

What stands out

  • It has two colour receptor classes (a dichromat): reds and greens fall on one axis, as in red-green colour blindness in people.
  • Its sharpest vision resolves 16.4 cycles per degree: the finest stripe pattern it can tell apart from grey.
  • It stops seeing flicker at 80 Hz, against 60 Hz for people in this dataset, so fast motion looks about 1.3 times slower to it.[28][29]

The six dials

Evidence levels: how the tiers work. "Measured" means a value measured in this species; "Estimated" values come from a close relative or an eye-size formula. The last column gives the values for people from the same catalogue.

Vision values for the yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares), catalogue-v1
DialValueEvidenceSourcesPeople
ColourColour receptors
2 receptor classes: 426 nm (VS/SWS (violet)), 485 nm (MWS (green))
measured in this species
Measured[1][2]Colour receptors: 3 receptor classes: 421.5 nm (VS/SWS (violet)), 532 nm (MWS (green)), 558.4 nm (LWS (long)) Measured (not re-verified)[3][4][5][6]
SharpnessAcuity
16.4 cycles per degree
median of 1 behavioural rows (method priority rule)
Measured[7]Acuity: 63.75 cycles per degree Measured[8][9]
Field of viewBinocular overlap
32.85°
group default: median of tier-A values in vision type the "Shallow-water fish tetrachromat" type within phylum Chordata (2 species: Danio rerio, Notemigonus crysoleucas)
Group default[10]Binocular overlap: 122.5° Measured[11][12]
Total field of view: 200° Measured (not re-verified)[13]
Blind area behind the head: 160° Derived[13]
Eye placement: frontal Derived[11][12]
Sharp zones (foveas)Number of foveas
0
mode of species-v1 relatives in order Perciformes: Toxotes jaculatrix
Group default[14]Number of foveas: 1 Measured[15]
Fovea type: fovea Measured[15]
Fovea type
ventrotemporal area (high rgc density)		Group default[14]
Night visionActivity pattern
diurnal
group default: mode of tier-A values in vision type the "Shallow-water fish tetrachromat" type within phylum Chordata (224 species: Amphiprion ocellaris, Acanthochromis polyacanthus, Acanthurus bahianus, Acanthurus…
Group default[16][17]Activity pattern: diurnal Measured (not re-verified)[18][19][20][3][21][22][23][17]
Pupil shape: vertical Group default[24][25]
Reflective layer (tapetum): no Measured[26]
Rods vs cones: cone-dominated Derived[18][19][20][3][21][22][23][17]
Rods vs cones
cone-dominated		Group default[16][17]
Motion (flicker fusion)Flicker fusion frequency
80 Hz
median of 1 bright-light rows (behavioural/whole-eye ERG rows; all rows: [80.0])
Measured[27]Flicker fusion frequency: 60 Hz Measured[28][29]

All fish side by side: Fish: every measurement. Method: how we know what animals see.

Sources

  1. Schweikert et al. 2018
  2. VPOD in-vivo (MSP / single-cell) lambda… 2025
  3. Longcore 2023
  4. Kirwan
  5. Müller et al. 2009
  6. Thermal Activation and Photoactivation of Visual… 2004
  7. Caves et al. 2017
  8. Kirk et al. 2004
  9. Veilleux et al. 2014
  10. Pita et al. 2015
  11. Heesy 2004
  12. Heffner et al. 1992
  13. Campbell & Green 1965
  14. Temple et al. 2010
  15. Kopania et al. 2025
  16. Froese et al.
  17. Moura et al. 2024
  18. Anderson et al. 2017
  19. Borges et al. 2018
  20. Wilman et al. 2014
  21. Maor et al. 2017
  22. Jones et al. 2009
  23. Schmitz et al. 2011
  24. Banks et al. 2015
  25. Cervino et al. 2021
  26. Guareschi et al. 2025
  27. Lafitte et al. 2022
  28. Healy et al. 2013
  29. Inger et al. 2014

Every value cites its sources (all sources). Values were extracted from these works and converted (units, medians, derived values); changes are ours, and the listed sources do not endorse this site. Data: catalogue-v1, built 2026-09-29. Accuracy notes: how accurate is this? Method: how we know.