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Color vision in the dog

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 June 2009

Jay Neitz,
Timothy Geist and
Gerald H. Jacobs
Jay Neitz
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of California, Santa Barbara
Timothy Geist
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of California, Santa Barbara
Gerald H. Jacobs
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of California, Santa Barbara
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Abstract

The color vision of three domestic dogs was examined in a series of behavioral discrimination experiments. Measurements of increment-threshold spectral sensitivity functions and direct tests of color matching indicate that the dog retina contains two classes of cone photopigment. These two pigments are computed to have spectral peaks of about 429 nm and 555 nm. The results of the color vision tests are all consistent with the conclusion that dogs have dichromatic color vision.

Keywords

DogsCanis familiarisComparative color visionDichromacyCone Pigments

Information

Type
Research Articles
Information
Visual Neuroscience , Volume 3 , Issue 2 , August 1989, pp. 119 - 125
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1989

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