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OldGreyFox
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06-06-2021, 10:48 AM
11

Re: The Third Eye.....

Originally Posted by Ullabi ->
Here's a longer explanation Pixie. The eye apparently isn't used for seeing.

The tuatara has a third eye on the top of its head called the parietal eye. It has its own lens, a parietal plug which resembles a cornea, retina with rod-like structures, and degenerated nerve connection to the brain. The parietal eye is visible only in hatchlings, which have a translucent patch at the top centre of the skull. After four to six months, it becomes covered with opaque scales and pigment. Its purpose is unknown, but it may be useful in absorbing ultraviolet rays to produce vitamin D, as well as to determine light/dark cycles, and help with thermoregulation. Of all extant tetrapods, the parietal eye is most pronounced in the tuatara. It is part of the pineal complex, another part of which is the pineal gland, which in tuatara secretes melatonin at night. Some salamanders have been shown to use their pineal bodies to perceive polarised light, and thus determine the position of the sun, even under cloud cover, aiding navigation.
Aren't us humans supposed to have a pineal gland? But we rarely use it...
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06-06-2021, 12:32 PM
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Re: The Third Eye.....

Ullabi
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06-06-2021, 01:39 PM
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Re: The Third Eye.....

Originally Posted by OldGreyFox ->
Aren't us humans supposed to have a pineal gland? But we rarely use it...
Here you go OGF. Yes we have one and we”use” it more than you would think.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pineal_gland
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OldGreyFox
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06-06-2021, 09:30 PM
14

Re: The Third Eye.....

Originally Posted by Ullabi ->
Here you go OGF. Yes we have one and we”use” it more than you would think.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pineal_gland
Thanks Ullabi, fascinating, I never knew that. Isn't melatonin the substance that makes nerves conductive to electrical messages to the muscles? Does a lack of melatonin causes Motor Neurone disease?

An excellent film (based on a true story) was called 'Lorenzo's Oil' and it deals with a young boy who can't make melatonin.
 
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