Ultra-violet photoreceptors in the animal kingdom: their distribution and function

Until very recently, the role of ultra-violet (UV) colour perception in vertebrate and invertebrate vision has largely been ignored. However, in the past few years, a host of detailed information has become available on the widespread distribution of UV receptors in different species — from insects to mammals — and the important functions they seem to play in navigation, foraging, intraspecies communication and the control of circadian rhythms.