Paper preprint: "Heart cockle shells transmit sunlight for photosynthesis using bundled fiber optic cables and condensing lenses"

[enricosavazzi]

From the abstract:  "...we show that heart cockles (Corculum cardissa and spp., Cardiidae) use
intricate biophotonic adaptations to transmit more than 30% of visible sunlight (400-700nm)
while transmitting only 12% of potentially harmful UV radiation (300-400nm). Beneath each
window, microlenses condense light to penetrate more deeply into the symbiont-rich tissue. In
the shell windows, aragonite forms narrow fibrous prisms that are optically co-oriented
perpendicularly to the shell surface."

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/365071595_Heart_cockle_shells_transmit_sunlight_for_photosynthesis_using_bundled_fiber_optic_cables_and_condensing_lenses/references

 

These adaptations have been suspected, and qualitatively described, for about three decades, but only recently it has become practical to run realistic quantitative modelling.

[Nate]

Interesting read, I didn't know these existed. A quick google search shows some interesting history too, thanks for sharing the info.

[LookCloser]

This is very cool.
I know heart cockles, but I hadn't heard about this property before.

 

thanks for the very interesting read