It seems like most animals irises take up the entire space between their eye lids why are we different? White eye discharge typically signals eye irritation, which can occur with a variety of eye ailments. They are social animals too, and they clearly can follow our gaze. Why do humans have so much white in their eyes? For example, white sclera might signal good health and therefore help signal to others our potential as a mate. save hide report. I noticed this in one of those animated movies for children when I realized that the movie makers in order to encourage identification with the animals drew the animals with the whites of their eyes showing. It's about communication and cooperation. This might be disappointing for some, but true violet or red-colored eyes do not occur naturally in humans. - Rhoswen, aged three, Bristol, UK. Human eyes are somewhat distinctive in the animal kingdom in that the sclera is … Connection Between Eye Color and Eye Health. Unlike other primates, human beings have eyes with a distinct colour contrast between the white sclera, the coloured iris, and the black pupil.This is due to a lack of pigment in the sclera. Are there other species with eyes that look like ours? Humans have no pigment in their sclera, giving us what we commonly refer to as "the whites of our eyes." White circles around your eyes or other parts of the face often indicate a pigmentation problem called vitiligo, according to MedlinePlus 2. Some animals have black eyes or no whites in their eyes (like sharks, snakes, fish, etc), but many animals have whites of their eyes just like us. This needs to be fixed up manually after import. Why we show the whites of our eyes. share. Thanks for the question, Rhoswen. But in humans, our eyes may have evolved a white sclera since it made it easier to see which direction we’re looking in. Other primates have pigmented sclerae that are brown or dark in colour. There is also a higher contrast between human skin, sclera, and irises. Significance. Only humans obviously show the whites of their eyes, making it easier to communicate and deceive at a glance Your risk increases for vitiligo when you have dark skin, although people between the ages of 10 to 30 also carry a greater likelihood for the condition. Animals have whites of their eyes as well. We won’t be able to answer every question, but we’ll do our best. Differences in primate eyes. But what about animal eyes? Eye color may have evolved as our early ancestors moved toward cooler parts of the world. So, why should we have white sclera while everyone else's is … The change to the all-white scleras that humans have… Other ideas have also been proposed to explain why humans have such visible eyes. best. Many cameras have a "red eye reduction" feature. The dark sclera in most mammals might have evolved to ensure a flash of white from their eyes wouldn’t draw attention to them as they lurked in the shadows. Human eyes do reflect back the light the problem is called the "red eye effect." Yes, but not like cats do, when you photograph a cat's eyes at night you see a strong reflection because the eyes are shaped to gather more light in the dark and reflect it better than in human eyes. Can canines communicate with each other using gaze direction? Their eyes glow because of a layer called the tapetum lucidum just behind the retina. Another trick is to turn on all the lights in the room, which also contracts the pupil. It is indeed related to evolution, but it's not about vision. The truth is, guinea pigs also have a white part in their eye, just like humans. So far, as many as 15 genes have been associated with eye color inheritance. New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast. People with brown eyes have a lower incidence of eye cancer, macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy. Why do we have white eyes? In these cameras, the flash goes off twice -- once right before the picture is taken, and then again to actually take the picture. A white glow in the eye, a white pupil or white reflection can be a symptom of retinoblastoma – a rare type of eye cancer that affects babies and young children under the age of six. That’s why humans today still have eyes with small pupils, at the front of our heads. Why do we have white eyes? Specifically, eyes will look odd. This thread is archived. Conditions affecting the eyelids are also frequently to blame. However, there are other, more likely, causes of white eye which we’ve described below. Some of the eye-color genes include OCA2 and HERC2. Some theories also say that humans have evolved visible, white sclera because we’re very social animals, and this can help us to see where other people are looking – or even how they’re feeling – without words. In humans the whole sclera is white, contrasting with the coloured iris, but in other mammals the visible part of the sclera matches the colour of the iris, so the white part does not normally show. Though not as white as ours, this shows that they, and our common ancestor, may have had a variation of the gene needed for white eyes. 100% Upvoted. What causes white eye? The truth is, guinea pigs also have a white … Elizabeth Taylor is famous for her violet eyes, though in reality she just has very blue eyes that can look violet depending on the lighting.