- A tiny, monkeylike creature called the tarsier has the largest eyes compared to its body size. But the biggest eyes of all belong to the giant squid. Its volleyball-sized eyes are a hundred times larger than yours!
- A praying mantis has super-sharp eyes. The hungry hunter uses them to spot the slightest movements up to 60 feet (18 meters) away.
- The eyes of hawks and eagles see eight times more clearly than the sharpest human eyes. They have two foveae and five times more cones. A golden eagle can see a rabbit from 1 mile (1.6 kilometers) away. Just imagine having eyesight like that!
- Tyrannosaurus rex may have had the best eyesight ever. Some scientists say the fearsome dinosaur may have been able to see thirteen times more clearly than a person.
- Giant clams can have thousands of eyes, but they’re very simple. They can sense light and motion, but they can’t form images.
Looking for more Gross & Goofy facts about eyes? Check out my new book The Eyes Have It: The Secrets of Eyes and Seeing. To find out more about the whole Grosss and Goofy Body series, read this very thorough review from School Library Journal.