eyespot

[ ahy-spot ]

noun

1. a sensory organ of lower animals, having a light-perceiving function.
2. an eyelike spot, as on the tail of a peacock; eye.
3. Plant Pathology. a disease of plants, characterized by elliptical lesions on the leaves and stems, stunting of growth, and rotting, caused by any of several fungi.

eyespot

/ ˈaɪˌspɒt /

noun

1. a small area of light-sensitive pigment in some protozoans, algae, and other simple organisms
2. an eyelike marking, as on the wings of certain butterflies

eyespot

/ ī′spŏt′ /

1. An area that is sensitive to light and functions somewhat like an eye, found in certain single-celled organisms as well as many invertebrate animals.
2. A round marking resembling an eye, as on the tail feather of a peacock.

Word History and Origins

Origin of eyespot¹

First recorded in 1580–90; eye + spot

Example Sentences

The 30-centimeter-long adult grows out of a larva that is little more than a sesame seed–size blob with an eyespot at one end and a band of cilia around its body.

From Science Magazine

Some of the earliest renditions might have been a simple pit eye, a kind of pit of tissue lined with light receptors, or what scientists call an eyespot, a simple region that detects light.

From Scientific American

In one large glob of amber, the extended wing of a butterflylike lacewing shows a decoy eyespot that may have helped misdirect predators.

From Science Magazine

Each strip had either no eyespot, an eyespot smaller than the stickleback's own eye, or a larger eyespot.

From Science Magazine

Most species of Chlamydomonas — and I assume C. nivalis is no exception — possess a light-sensitive eyespot containing rhodopsin.

From Scientific American