-
Random Facts
- What is the Most Common Metal in the World?
- Where Is the Tundra?
- What Is a Sardine?
- What Gives Your Skin Its Color?
- Who was Brendan the Navigator?
- How was Plastic Invented and When?
- What should you do when you’re caught in a lightning storm?
- Is the Planet Mercury Always Hot?
- Why is a mile 5,280 feet instead of an even number like 5,000?
- Do Any Fish Swim “Standing Up”?
-
Recent Comments
- Levina on Why Was Bahrain Known As The Island of the Dead?
- modesto on History of Roses
- Tim tool man on Where is the Hottest Place on Earth?
- Bob Cahill on Are areas near the equator always warm even at higher elevations?
- chris on Who Invented Chewing Gum?
- mary on History of Umbrellas
- Abel Robinault on How Does a Clam Eat?
- chakaloso on How Does a Radio Work?
- natalie amaya on History of Shoes
- genessia on Who Invented the First Computer?
-
Tags
-
-
Pages
What Animal Has Three Eyes?
The tuatara, a lizard-like reptile that lives only in New Zealand, has those three “eyes.” It belongs to a group of reptiles that once included many other creatures, but today, the tuatara is the only surviving member of that group.
To understand where the tuatara’s “third” eye came from, scientists studied a small growth attached to the front of the reptile’s brain, a gland my called the pineal body.
In some lizards, the part of the brain that is related to this pineal body is shaped much like an eye. It has a lens-shaped outer wall, a transparent covering, and a retina with pigment.
Scientists think that this “pineal eye” does not help most lizards see, but in the tuatara, the pineal eye is fully developed, giving the creature a “third eye” through which to see!