Why do some creatures have eyes with exposed whites, irises, and dilating pupils, and some have mostly black, with the whites hidden
In: Biology
It’s evolutionary, many species view staring at them as a challenge to fight. For example you shouldn’t stare into the eyes of a monkey, having dark big irises means it’s less likely a rival sees you looking at them and starts fighting you.
There’s a theory (which I don’t remember how well-supported it is) that being able to see where your kin are looking is advantageous for coordinating things like hunting in groups
It’s believed that our style of eyes are used for nonverbal communication. Interestingly, dogs have more humanlike eyes than wolves, and are also one of the few animals that will deliberately seek out eye contact with humans.
I saw a study talking about how in chimpanzees, the majority either have tan/pale sceleras (“whites”) in their eyes and brown irises, or fairly dark sceleras with light irises.
Latest Answers