14 Animals With More Than 2 Eyes

Animals with more than 2 eyes exhibit a striking diversity in the animal kingdom and unique natural adaptations.

Although many people think of spiders when they think of several eyes, many other animals also have this remarkable trait.

What animals have more than two eyes, you may have thought. The idea is intriguing and merits further investigation.

Many species have more than the conventional two eyes, including insects and aquatic life.

In this blog post, we’ll examine a few of these amazing animals and discover some of their distinctive characteristics.

Discover the fascinating world of animals with more than 2 eyes by reading on.

1. Iguana

This is the first animal on our list with more than two eyes. Did you know that some iguana species possess a third “eye?

The top of their skull contains a parietal eye, which can detect light and dark and control body temperature. 

They can better survive in their environment thanks to their distinctive adaption.

It’s crucial to remember that, unlike their two primary eyes, this “eye” cannot produce detailed images.

The parietal eye is one of the incredible adaptations that may be discovered in animals having more than two eyes.

2. Komodo Dragon

This is the next animal on our list with more than 2 eyes. The Komodo dragon is another creature whose unusually large number of eyes can surprise you.

The retinas of these terrifying creatures, which are only present on a few Indonesian islands, contain not two, not four, but five different kinds of photoreceptor cells. 

Therefore, they possess more sensitive vision than most animals, including humans. Thanks to the additional receptors, they may be able to distinguish between various colors or identify prey or predators in low light.

However, the entire scope of their visual capabilities is currently under investigation by academics.

Despite having excellent eyesight, the Komodo dragon hunts mostly with its keen sense of smell.

3. Fish

There are a few animals with more than 2 eyes. Fish is one of them.

Anableps, a fish with four eyes, has two eyes divided by a band of tissue, enabling it to see both above and below the water at once.

The six-gill shark has two primary eyes and four secondary eyes, which allow it to see movement and light in dimly lit areas.

As a bonus, some deep-sea fish, like the barreleye fish, have highly developed eyes that can rotate to see up through their transparent heads and find prey above them.

Fish species‘ distinctive adaptations demonstrate how they have evolved to adapt to their surroundings and live in various circumstances.

4. Mollusks

Animals with more than two eyes are common in mollusks. Scallops typically have between 100 and 200 eyes, whereas members of Chiton typically have approximately 1,000.

Mollusks can be found in a range of aquatic settings worldwide. Their numerous eyes typically line the outside borders of their shells in rows.

Despite having tiny eyes, they have good vision. To adjust for variations in lighting, their pupils dilate and contract and their retinas produce sharp images of their environment. The huge clam, a kind of mollusk, has 700 eyes.

Due to their extreme sensitivity to light and motion, these eyeballs may seal inside their protective shells in response to slight changes.

5. Horseshoe Crabs 

Horseshoe crabs can be found all around the world’s coastlines. They have a total of ten eyes.

Horseshoe crabs have many eyes, but their vision is poor. One eye sees light, and the other, smaller eye, may detect motion. 

Interestingly, horseshoe crabs may alter their eye color to adapt to various environmental factors.

When burrowing themselves in the sand, their eyes are red; when they emerge from the sand, they are blue.

6. Triops

The crab genus Triops is the next animal on our list with more than two eyes. It is found in warm climates on all continents except Antarctica.

These tiny animals are frequently kept as pets. They have three eyes—two that can be seen and one that cannot.

These three eyes are situated above the head. The third eye is light-sensitive and can assist Triops in detecting changes in ambient light. 

7. Scorpions

It can be found worldwide and comes in various sizes and shapes. Additionally, these eight-legged monsters have at least eight eyes and occasionally 12.

Typically, the top of a scorpion’s head is covered in rows of eyes. Although some have a third row, most have two rows of four eyes.

Despite having many eyes, scorpions have poor vision. They cannot generate coherent images; instead, their eyes are largely utilized to detect movement and light changes.

8. Spiders

Spiders normally have eight eyes, like scorpions. Some have merely six, while others have as many as 12. However, unlike scorpions, most spiders have superior vision. 

Their eyes produce images of what they are looking at, and they are extremely sensitive to light and movement.

They have a fantastic perspective of their environment thanks to their numerous eyes.

9. Lampreys

The first vertebrate in history to have a backbone, the lamprey, also known as the “jawless fish” because it lacks solid jaws but has many teeth and a blood-sucking mouth that allows it to bore into the flesh of other aquatic creatures.

Most lampreys have four eyes, two of which are parietal eyes formed from the parapineal organ and the pineal organ, and the other two are common eyes.

The center of the upper half of the braincase houses these parietal eyes.

10. Insects

Bees are flying insects with five eyes. With the exception of Antarctica, the world is home to around 16,000 known species of bees.

Two huge compound eyes and three smaller ocelli eyes (simple eyes) are positioned in a triangle in the center of their heads, giving them five eyes in total.

We use our two enormous compound eyes, which are visible to the naked eye and have numerous small lenses, to perceive patterns, shapes, insects, and other animals.

The three tiny ocelli eyes, also known as simple eyes, detect light but not forms, which helps the animals detect approaching predators if they are above them.

11. Ogre-Faced Spider

The ogre-faced spider, known as the net-casting spider, is a nocturnal spider with exceptional night vision.

These spiders have eight eyes. However, because of their great size, only two of them are visible, giving the impression that they only have two. 

However, especially at night, its eyes have the best low-light vision.

Their lack of irises does not harm the sensitive retina in their eyes, which is exposed to sunlight every morning and needs to be replaced by new cells by dusk to function properly at night.

12. Jumping Spider

The eight eyes on a jumping spider give it excellent eyesight while chasing its prey, typically insects.

When it comes to hunting, these spiders behave like small cats, chasing after their prey and leaping to get it.

They have eight eyes, two of which are main and cannot move, and six are secondary.

They have two huge eyes on their forehead, also known as the primary ones. These eyes are sensitive to color and can gauge distance.

The other secondary eyes can analyze motion and moving things; some are also sensitive to green light.

Jumping spiders’ two eyes are similar to telescopes because they have a corneal lens at the center of each eye.

13. Praying Mantis

Praying mantises have three little eyes on top of their heads in addition to two huge eyes on either side of their heads.

They can detect changes in light with these eyes, which do not assist their eyesight.

Like bees and wasps, they have five eyes, three of which are light-only eyes on top of the head. These eyes help them identify approaching predators.

14. Tuatara

This is the last on our list of animals with more than 2 eyes. The tuatara is a reptile in New Zealand known for having more than two eyes. Specifically, tuatara possesses three eyes.

Like most reptiles, they have two common reptilian eyes and a third eye called the “parietal eye.” 

This unique eye is on their heads and faces the sky. It contains all the typical components of an eye, such as a lens, retina, cornea, and nerves.

However, once the tuatara’s egg hatches, the eye becomes covered by scales.

Despite its unusual appearance, the tuatara’s third eye is an intriguing feature that sets it apart from other animals.