Table 3.
Peak absorbance (λmax, in nm) of visual pigments in four species of colubrine colubrid snakes, as determined by MSP. (Standard deviations and number of cells measured are also reported (see also the electronic supplementary material, figure S1). Opsin-based pigment identification is based on opsin gene identity (see text; figure 2) for conspecifics or congeners or (in the case of R. lecontei) on similarity of λmax values to those of other colubrines for which genetic data are available.)
| opsin-based pigment |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| species | RH1 | SWS1 | LWS |
| Lampropeltis getula | 493 ± 2 (n = 9) | c.370 (n = 1)a | 538 ± 2 (n = 15) |
| Arizona elegans | 484 ± 2 (n = 9) | 366 (n = 2) | 538 ± 1 (n = 21) |
| Rhinocheilus lecontei | 487 ± 2 (n = 9) | 372 ± 1 (n = 4) | 539 ± 1 (n = 19) |
| Hypsiglena torquata | 500 ± 2 (n = 12) | 371 ± 2 (n = 8) | 534 ± 2 (n = 23) |
aAbsorbance was measured for six cells, but no readings passed selection criteria; the 370 nm value reported here is an estimate based on noisy data.