How does the scale worm (Harmothoe imbricata) see?
The scale worm (Harmothoe imbricata) is a animal in the order Phyllodocida. Its eyes belong to the vision type .
Measured in this species: motion (flicker fusion). One measured dial: a value other than colour or sharpness is measured in this species; colour and sharpness are not measured here. Every value below carries its evidence level and sources; nothing is typed by hand.
See your photo as the scale worm (Harmothoe imbricata)This species is part of the full catalogue in the tool (full unlock). Your photo stays on your device.
What stands out
- It stops seeing flicker at 5 Hz, against 60 Hz for people in this dataset, so fast motion looks choppier to it.[2][3]
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.
| Dial | Value | Evidence | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| Colour | No value in the catalogue. | ||
| Sharpness | No value in the catalogue. | ||
| Field of view | No value in the catalogue. | ||
| Sharp zones (foveas) | No value in the catalogue. | ||
| Night vision | Rods vs cones no rods (invertebrate photoreceptors) | Group default | |
| Motion (flicker fusion) | Flicker fusion frequency 5 Hz median of 1 rows (no bright-light flag) (behavioural/whole-eye ERG rows; all rows: [5.0]) | Measured | [1] |
Related animals
- Scale worm (Lepidonotus squamatus) same vision type
- Sea worm same vision type
- Horseshoe crab same vision type
- Tuatara same vision type
- Australian lungfish same vision type
- Brine shrimp same vision type
More other: all other with measured vision data.
Sources
- Haarlem CS, Hynes C, Jackson AL, Mitchell KJ, O'Connell RG, Healy K. 2026. Pace of ecology drives the tempo of visual perception across the animal kingdom. Nature Ecology & Evolution (doi:10.1038/s41559-026-02994-7). Figshare dataset 10.6084/m9.figshare.30556475. doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.30556475
- Healy K, McNally L, Ruxton GD, Cooper N, Jackson AL. 2013. Metabolic rate and body size are linked with perception of temporal information. Animal Behaviour 86:685-696. Table 1. doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2013.06.018
- Inger R, Bennie J, Davies TW, Gaston KJ. 2014. Potential biological and ecological effects of flickering artificial light. PLoS ONE 9(5): e98631. Table 3. doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0098631
Every value cites its sources (all sources). Data: catalogue-v1, built 2026-09-29. Accuracy notes: how accurate is this?