Spectral sensitivity of cone vision in the diurnal murid Rhabdomys pumilio

An animal's temporal niche - the time of day at which it is active - is known to drive a variety of adaptations in the visual system. These include variations in the topography, spectral sensitivity and density of retinal photoreceptors, and changes in the eye's gross anatomy and spectral transmission characteristics. We have characterised visual spectral sensitivity in the murid rodent (the four-striped grass mouse), which is in the same family as (nocturnal) mice and rats but exhibits a strong diurnal niche. As is common in diurnal species, the lens acts as a long-pass spectral filter, providing limited transmission of light