Spectral sensitivity and Color Vision in the Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops Truncatus)

Spectral sensitivity was measured in air in a bottlenose dolphin using a behavioral training technique. The spectral sensitivity curve shows two maxima in sensitivity, one in the near ultraviolet part of the spectrum and the other one in the bluegreen part at about 490 nm. Two wavelength discrimination tasks showed that the dolphin could discriminate two wavelengths from the peak regions of the two maxima of the spectral sensitivity function, but not between two wavelengths lying within the broad maximum of the curve in the bluegreen part of the spectrum. Possible underlying mechanisms for the shape of the function are discussed.