Animals with Big Eyes

Big eyes in animals add to their cuteness and serve as an important adaptation, helping them cope with their surroundings. Majority of the big-eyed animals are nocturnal, thus being able to have a clearer vision of their habitat when it is dark around.

List of 20 Big-eyed Animals

1. Tarsiers

These tiny tree animals stand out because of their big eyes that remain fixed in their skull, contributing to their sharp night vision. They have an immovable socket and the largest eye-to-body weight ratio among all mammals. The nocturnal Philippine tarsier is one of the most significant tarsiers.

2. Margay

The margay is nocturnal, preferring to hunt when it is dark. Their large eyes give them the clear vision needed to forage at night. Their sensitivity to light is six times greater than humans because of the tapetum lucidum or tissues present within. Another striking feature is their long grayish tail, half the length of their head and body.

3. Geckos

Their eyes look increasingly large since most geckos lack eyelids to cover them partially. Instead, they have thin and transparent membranes covering each eye’s surface. When they have to clear their corneas of dust and dirt, they end up licking them since these reptiles cannot blink. Their color vision in low light appears 350 times more sensitive than humans.

4. Slow Loris

They have forward-facing eyes, which give them a three-dimensional vision. A layer of tissues (tapetum lucidum) in their eyes improves their vision in low light.

5. Kinkajou

Their eyes are large and brown, reflecting yellowish-white or greenish-white light in the moonlight. The young kinkajous are blind at birth.

6. Colossal Squid

They have the largest eyes measured in any species of the animal kingdom. The eyes are around 27 cm wide, as big as a soccer ball. Of the several uses, its massive eyes help it in detecting prey.

7. Reindeer

Studies show that reindeers can see lights with short wavelengths of as much as 320 nm, which is way below the human capacity of 400 nm. The tissues in their eyes change from golden in summer to bluish during winter. According to scientists, the blue color helps capture more light during the colder months, contributing to better vision when it is dark.

8. Dragonflies

Their big eyes in front of their head give them the visual acuity needed for capturing prey even when in flight.

9. Ostrich

Their eyes are the largest among all birds, 5 cm in diameter when measured from front to back similar to a pool ball’s size. The ostrich’s eyes are even five times bigger than humans or any land-dwelling animal.

10. Chameleons

Their eyes have a scaly, cone-shaped lid with a small and round opening at the center to accommodate the pupil. These chameleons can move each of their eyes separately, independent of the other. This gives them the scope to view two objects at the same time.

11. Aye-aye

The long-fingered lemur aye-aye has big yellowish-orange eyes that help them see clearly in the dark. They even have big, triangular sensitive ears that aids these mammals to detect prey with ease, and long fingers.

12. Pottos

Their big eyes provide a good night vision, also helping them see in low light while searching for their prey.

13. Galagos

Also called nagapies or bush babies, these small nocturnal animals have clearer night vision because of their relatively big eyes. Their bulging eyes also allow them to rotate their head to a full 250°.

14. Lemurs

Their round eyes, set against their fluffy face, matched with large, upright ears, take their cuteness to another level. The tapetum lucidum, or tissues in their eyes, increases their night vision.

15. Red-eyed Tree Frog

The big red bulging eyes make these frogs look unique and help them defend themselves from potential predators. When disturbed or agonized, it takes no time to flash its red eyes that startle the enemies right away, giving the frog enough opportunity to escape. This mechanism is called startle coloration.

16. Japanese Dwarf Flying Squirrel

The big eyes of the Japanese dwarf flying squirrel not just make them look appealing but also enhance their vision. At birth they have their eyes closed, and also come without any fur.

17. Asian Vine Snake

They have big front-facing eyes with horizontal keyhole-shaped pupils. This gives them binocular vision helping to catch prey with ease.

18. Ringtail

They have big black eyes encircled with white furry rings. In fact, the large eyes of this mammal in combination with their upright ears help them comfortably forage and navigate at night.